title: Citizens unite for computational immunology!
abstract: Recruiting volunteers who can provide computational time, programming expertise, or puzzle-solving talent has emerged as a powerful tool for biomedical research. Recent projects demonstrate the potential for such 'crowdsourcing' efforts in immunology. Tools for developing applications, new funding opportunities, and an eager public make crowdsourcing a serious option for creative solutions for computationally-challenging problems. Expanded uses of crowdsourcing in immunology will allow for more efficient large-scale data collection and analysis. It will also involve, inspire, educate, and engage the public in a variety of meaningful ways. The benefits are real - it is time to jump in!
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and the Harper Cancer Research Institute, 251 Nieuwland Science Hall, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN 46556, USA.
authors.forename: Orrin S
authors.initials: OS
authors.lastname: Belden
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and the Harper Cancer Research Institute, 251 Nieuwland Science Hall, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN 46556, USA.
authors.forename: Sarah Catherine
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Baker
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and the Harper Cancer Research Institute, 251 Nieuwland Science Hall, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN 46556, USA. Electronic address: brian-baker@nd.edu.
authors.forename: Brian M
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Baker
mesh_terms: D000486:Allergy and Immunology / Q000191:economics; D019295:Computational Biology / Q000191:economics; D063045:Crowdsourcing / Q000191:economics; D003625:Data Collection / Q000191:economics / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D009316:National Institutes of Health (U.S.); D014481:United States; D000078329:Workforce
keywords: computational biology; crowdsourcing; distributed computing; immunology