Fwd: FungiDB Community Meeting *** Tuesday 12 Nov ***

[LUIS MARIA CORROCHANO PELAEZ]

Hi everyone,

FungiDB has organized a zoom meeting to update the fungal community of changes in the way the service will operate in the future. You are all welcome to attend.

Best regards

Luis

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Dr. Luis M. Corrochano
Departamento de Genética
Facultad de Biología

Universidad de Sevilla
Avenida Reina Mercedes s/n
41012 Sevilla, Spain

telephone: 34-954 550 919
e-mail: corro...@us.es

 

Subject: FungiDB Community Meeting *** Tuesday 12 Nov ***

Dear Colleagues – FungiDB will host a community meeting for mycology researchers and other interested parties, to discuss the current status and future plans of VEuPathDB database resources.  Please feel free to redistribute this email to others who may be interested.
 
When:  Tuesday, 12 November 2024, at 10am EST / 3pm UTC
Please register to receive a Zoom link:  
https://upenn.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJUud-6urz8qEtzfIT-X5axAXz7fTJmhj5_A

 
As you may already be aware:

• NIH support for VEuPathDB genomics resources was terminated on 15 Sept 2024 … contrary to study section recommendations, despite certification as a Core Biodata Resource by the Global Biodata Coalition, without community consultation, and notwithstanding adverse press, social media, and many thousands of outraged emails from affected users worldwide.
• Concerned about the impact of this decision on global public health, and the tens of thousands of mycology / parasitology / vector biology researchers who depend on VEuPathDB for their work, several groups have provided funds to bring VEuPathDB back on line, at least temporarily.
• VEuPathDB is once again available, as a static resource, i.e. without new data, datatypes, or analytical tools, and with minimal outreach activity.  Our supporters have also provided partial funding to implement infrastructure that we expect will allow the resumption of regular database releases – including new genomes, functional & phenotypical datasets,  analytical tools, etc – in 2025.
• Long-term financial sustainability will depend upon additional support, likely involving a combination of grants, philanthropic contributions and community buy-in.  This will require careful assessment of costs, value, and what the community needs and is willing to support.

We look forward to meeting with you, to answer any questions that you may have.  This meeting will be recorded and posted on-line, for those unable to attend at the scheduled time.  Questions may also be directed to he...@fungidb.org

We are also conducting a brief anonymous survey to help us to understand FungiDB usage and its impact on your work, and guide plans for the future:  Take the Survey ... or copy and paste the URL below into your internet browser:  https://upenn.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_50ZH5wxLQostZ8G

Sincerely – The VEuPathDB team