Nature Chemical Biology on creating communities
In its June Editorial, Nature Chemical Biology (5, 365; 2009) calls for mechanisms to initiate, develop and support emerging research communities that cross traditional scientific and geographical boundaries.
Some extracts from the Editorial:
Over time, scientific societies, journals, conferences and funding mechanisms are formed to disseminate new findings, to provide forums for recommending standards and nomenclature, and to facilitate collaborations. However, establishing this research infrastructure typically requires significant time and resources. As science becomes increasingly dynamic and interdisciplinary, new and more effective ways to nucleate and support emerging communities are required.
In practice, bringing together scientists from diverse backgrounds may not be so easy. In a commentary in this issue, Peter Seeberger outlines the challenges in bringing together carbohydrate researchers (p. 368). In particular, the diversity and complexities of these molecules, the difficulty in accessing synthetic samples, and the different languages used to describe the compounds in the chemical and biological communities have hindered communication and scientific progress. As Seeberger discusses, the most important initial steps in bringing together carbohydrate researchers included the creation of a shared set of technological resources and a shared vision for priorities in advancing the field.
The creation of an organized community was enabled in part by taking advantage of a focused funding initiative—a US National Institutes of Health (NIH) Glue Grant. Taking a page from the earlier proteomics and genomics efforts, these grants provide short-term funding for large-scale collaborative projects, offering services and resources that individual scientists can use to advance their own research at a scale that would not be possible for an individual laboratory or even a single university or institute.
Beyond financial support for research, communities need forums for sharing information and results and for discussing community standards. The publication of Essentials of Glycobiology in 1999, the first comprehensive book in the field, was an important step in uniting the carbohydrate community. The second edition of the book, reviewed by Nicola Pohl (p. 373), is freely available online through the US National Center for Biotechnology Information at the request of the authors and with agreement from Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press. Online communities are now a particularly effective way for scientists to communicate in real time without geographical barriers.
The Editorial describes some further research communities, and some online partnerships with Nature Publishing Group which help to foster these interactions.
Nature Chemical Biology website.
Functional Glycomics gateway.
