cloud4SAMS

• Overall objective:
Analysing the impact of the human microbiome on health is a scientific and medical challenge, raising both technological issues (massive, dispersed and heterogeneous data) and ethical questions, such as identifying data with predictive value for health.

In this context, the aim of the cloud4SAMS project is to deploy a distributed digital infrastructure enabling scientists to use microbiome and health data in a secure computing environment. The infrastructure will be based on datasets produced by scientific communities, and will consist of software tools and workflows for processing these data, computing and storage platforms suitable for processing microbiome data and matching it with health data.

• Scientific and societal issues:
The scientific challenges are to develop a proof of concept for a secure national infrastructure dedicated to microbiome and health data.

The societal issues at stake are the implementation of procedures and regulations to respond to ethical, legal and societal challenges in a concrete way. The project should eventually provide recommendations, procedures and guidelines for sensitive data sharing, protection and openness, as well as an impact assessment.

• Project focuses:
Axis 1. Development of a catalogue of digital resources within the infrastructure;
Axis 2. Implementation of a secure computing environment for the infrastructure;
Axis 3. Development of access management for the infrastructure’s data;
Axis 4. Dissemination of open data in national and international repositories, and development of training materials and events;
Axis 5. Support for the implementation of scientific ethics and regulations in force concerning the use of health data and microbiomes.