Dates and Location
- Dates: September 21-23, 2020
- Location: Virtual (Anywhere with an internet connection)
- Time: 9am-6pm Central European Time (UTC+2)
Overview
The workshop focused primarily on user training, including lessons for complete beginners to NWB and training in more advanced usage of NWB. There were breakout sessions where the developers of state-of-the-art data analysis, visualization, and management tools (e.g., CaImAn, SpikeInterface, DANDI, suite2p, DataJoint, and more) demonstrated their tools and showed how to use NWB with their tools. There was also time for attendees to work on NWB-related projects, such as converting data to NWB, using NWB-compatible software tools, or going through the NWB online tutorials.
To accommodate researchers in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, the workshop was held 9am-6pm Central European Time (UTC+2).
Objective
The Neurodata Without Borders: Neurophysiology project (NWB, https://www.nwb.org/) is an effort to standardize the description and storage of neurophysiology data and metadata. NWB enables data sharing and reuse and reduces the energy barrier to applying data analysis both within and across labs. Several laboratories, including the Allen Institute for Brain Science, have wholeheartedly adopted NWB. The community needs to join forces to achieve data standardization in neurophysiology.
The purpose of the NWB User Days training workshops is to bring the experimental neurophysiology community together to further the adoption and development of NWB, the NWB software libraries, and scientific workflows that rely on NWB. Members of the community exchange ideas and best practices for using NWB, share NWB-based tools, surface common needs, resolve coding issues, make feature requests, brainstorm about future collaboration, and make progress on current blockages. The event also enables NWB developers and users to interact with each other to facilitate communication, gather requirements, and train users.
Projects
During the workshop, there was time to work on NWB-related projects to practice using the NWB software and ask questions to the NWB developers. Working on a project was optional but encouraged for attendees to get the most out of the workshop.
Project suggestions included:
- Convert some of your or a collaborator’s data to NWB
- Convert data from a public archive to NWB
- Integrate a software tool with NWB
- Work through NWB online tutorials
- Practice using NWB-compatible tools on publicly available NWB data, e.g., on DANDI
Additional Organizational Support
- The Kavli Foundation