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Welcome to the EDRN Informatics Standards Website

This website serves as a public resource for information, guidelines, and recommended practices to follow when developing EDRN-compliant informatics tools. An overview of the informatics concepts are provided on the architecture page.

Consult the EDRN Public Portal for information and background on the Early Detection Research Network.

Getting started (EDRN Data Standards)
The information architecture of EDRN plays a key role in providing a data-driven infrastructure. Data within EDRN is annotated and/our implemented using common information models and data elements described below. Additional efforts will be developed in providing common formats for capturing science data sets. For more information about standards for capturing/annotating data, see the specific applications (e.g., eCAS for science data).


 * EDRN Data Model - EDRN Biomarker Ontology
 * Common Data Elements - EDRN Common Data Elements

Getting started (EDRN Informatics Architecture)
The EDRN informatics architecture is predicated upon the idea of loosely connected components which subscribe to a common information model (EDRN Ontology) and controlled vocabulary (EDRN Common Data Elements, or CDEs). This has allowed EDRN to develop a plethora of highly specialized tools using different technologies that nonetheless are capable of inter-operating to form a cohesive distributed system.

Click here for more information.

EDRN Informatics Applications

 * EDRN Public Portal Page EDRN Public Portal links and information
 * EDRN Biomarker Database Page EDRN Biomarker Database link and information
 * EDRN Catalog and Archive Service Page EDRN eCAS link and information
 * The EDRN Resource Network Exchange, a virtual specimen bank

Standards used within EDRN

 * Common Data Elements are based on ISO/ISC 11179 standard for metadata registries
 * The EDRN Knowledge Portal relies of the W3C Resource Description Framework (RDF) for data publishing
 * The web services infrastructure is based on the REST model
 * Publishing of events to the portal uses Really Simple Syndication (RSS)
 * Security is based on the Lightweight Directory Access Protocol.

Infrastructure Components
Core Data Management components are based on the Apache OODT framework.

Documentation on Use of Standards for EDRN
EDRN Informatics components speak to one another using Resource Description Format or RDF. EDRN RDF Guide.

EDRN Informatics applications use a security service for role-based and identity management. See Identity and Access Standard Operating Procedures.

The EDRN eCAS backend system (based on the Apache OODT file manager and associated services) leverages a REST-based protocol for access. See eCAS REST API.