Aaron Y. Lee, MD, the Arthur W. Stickle Distinguished Professor of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences and head of the John F. Hardesty, MD Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences, and Cecilia S. Lee, MD, the Jane Hardesty Poole Distinguished Professor, both of WashU Medicine, and collaborators at the California Medical Innovations Institute have earned first place and a $400,000 prize in the Data Sharing Index Challenge sponsored by the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
The team created Scholar Data, a free online tool that helps scientists track and showcase the real-world value of the raw research data they share with the public. By establishing a consistent way to measure how often and effectively shared datasets are reused, the platform encourages open science and helps speed up new discoveries.
Historically, academic recognition has depended almost entirely on how often research papers are cited, overlooking scientists who do the vital work of organizing and sharing raw medical or scientific data. The new system closes this gap by rating datasets on their quality and real-world usefulness while adjusting for differences across scientific fields. By giving researchers concrete credit for open-access work and making sure data can be easily located, shared and double-checked by other teams, the model aims to foster stronger institutional collaboration, make scientific findings more reliable and ultimately accelerate treatments for patients.
Read more on the John F. Hardesty, MD Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences website.