In this video, we will introduce you to the Cancer Target Discovery and Development Network
Dashboard or CTD^2 Dashboard.
The Dashboard provides access to validated data and the ability to view a cross-section
of results assembled across multiple CTD^2 Centers’ findings.
What was the need for development of a searchable interface?
The Dashboard was developed to address the need of the community to find data generated
from multiple types of biological and analytical approaches by CTD^2, and to adhere to the
findable, accessible, interoperable, and re-usable, FAIR principles.
Searching for concise conclusions on a specific gene, cell line, perturbagen, or animal model
within a long list of publications can be difficult and time-consuming.
In addition, the massive amounts of primary data, often stored in large databases could
be difficult to navigate without bioinformatics expertise.
It can be challenging for investigators to determine the significance and reproducibility
of a result from the primary data alone.
Therefore, there was a major need for a searchable web interface compiling preliminary results,
connecting them with subsequent evidence that reinforces or builds upon the original finding,
and conveying the extent to which the results have been functionally validated.
The CTD^2 Dashboard compiles the CTD^2 Network-generated conclusions, or “observations”, associated
with a specific gene, cell line, animal model, or perturbagen.
It provides related evidence with links to data and references together with the validation
strength of evidence.
The Network has defined tiers of validation for evidence pertaining to a finding, and
the CTD^2 Dashboard uses these tiers to indicate the extent to which results have been validated.
Increasing tier number indicates increasing validation.
Tier 1 evidence includes high-throughput biology, while tier 3 evidence validates a hypothesis
in vivo.
Additional details can be found in the manuscript by clicking on the word Tier.
Let’s go over some commonly used terminology in the CTD^2 Dashboard.
Submission: A Dashboard entry that represents a dataset associated with positive experimental
results, a set of data-related figures, or a “story” (research highlights).
Subject: The focus of an experiment or result in a submission such as genes, proteins, small
molecules, cell lines, animal models.
Role: A function assigned to subjects by CTD2 Centers based on the evidence.
Roles are standardized and include biomarkers, disease, master regulators, interactors, oncogenes,
perturbagens, candidate drugs, and targets.
Roles are useful for easy browsing and searching.
Evidence: Positive or validated results from a scientific experiment selected by the submitter.
Observation: A Center-determined conclusion submitted as a connection between subjects
and evidence; the "fundamental unit" of the Dashboard.
Now let’s talk about the Dashboard organization.
During the submission process, subjects from CTD2 Network studies are ordered by a relevance
score calculated as the sum across Centers of the highest Tier evidence provided by each
Center contributing evidence.
What this means is that observations about subjects such as proteins, genes, or compounds
can all be browsed at once, and those observations are listed in the same place and ranked according
to how extensively they have been validated in various in vitro and in vivo systems.
In Summary, the CTD^2 Dashboard allows easy data navigation and use by a range of scientists,
from computational to non-computational cancer experts.
The CTD^2 Dashboard addresses the data-access and use challenges and fills the need for
a searchable and browsable web interface.
It assembles concisely summarized observations and conclusions, and connects these observations
with underlying evidence.
Any investigator can use the Network-generated experimental results as a starting point to
develop new hypothesis or confirm existing hypotheses, further advancing the findings
to understand cancer etiology and translate them toward clinical applications.
As the Dashboard continues to be updated with new Network-generated data, its importance
as a resource for the research community will be enhanced in keeping with the FAIR principles.
For more information on the CTD^2 Dashboard organization, including additional term definitions,
please select the text “CTD^2 Dashboard: A Platform to Explore Evidence-based Observations”
or read our manuscript CTD^2 Dashboard: A searchable web interface to connect validated
results from the Cancer Target Discovery and Development Network” in the journal Database.
We appreciate your valuable feedback, please send your questions/comments to ocg@mail.nih.gov.