Scripps Research Joins the iRODS Consortium

Scripps Research has become the newest member of the iRODS Consortium, the membership-based organization that leads development and support of the integrated Rule-Oriented Data System (iRODS).The amount of data produced by biomedical research has increased rapidly over the past few decades. At Scripps Research, scientists using techniques such as cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM), other advanced microscopy, genomic sequencing, or nuclear magnetic resonance need ways to effectively manage and store the vast amounts of data produced by these approaches. The HPC core at Scripps Research works with scientists across disciplines, providing compute, storage and archival capabilities. The HPC core is now implementing iRODS within their data management systems.

iRODS is an open-source, policy-based software used by research, commercial, and government organizations around the world. The iRODS software allows you to store, manage and share large amounts of data, including their metadata, between different organizations and platforms and provides a mechanism for defining rules for their storage, processing, and distribution. iRODS is designed to support collaboration, interoperability, and scalability of data infrastructures. The iRODS software has been deployed at thousands of locations worldwide for long-term management of data in various industries such as the oil and gas industry, biosciences, physical sciences, archives, and M&E.

Through the HPC core, data administrators representing each domain – such as cryo-EM, genomics, and more – will be able to use iRODS to manage their data. Once initial analysis is completed, raw data will be automatically moved though iRODS to more cost-effective archival storage, while remaining accessible to users when needed.

“We are very happy to welcome Scripps Research and their impressive history of scientific discovery to the Consortium,” says Terrell Russell, executive director, iRODS Consortium. “We look forward to helping think through hard problems and to continue learning from some of the best practitioners in the world.”

“The iRODS Consortium hosts regular meetings with its members, which is a really beneficial opportunity for our team,” says JC Ducom, HPC manager, Scripps Research. “These meetings allow us to ask questions, solve problems, share knowledge and ultimately implement best practices with the help of the consortium’s expertise.”