Information regarding data-sharing
Recognizing the importance of scientific data sharing and dissemination, in collaboration with the Tulane University Innovative Learning Center, Tulane Technology Services and Tulane Howard Tilton Library, zebrafish neurobehavioral data are shared between members of scientific community and public through the Zebrafish Neurophenome Database, ZND (), serving as the first specialized online open-source repository for behavioral data collected in zebrafish studies. The ZND is a “My Structured Query Language” (MySQL) database which is written in PHP scripting language and maintained on the Tulane University server by the Tulane University Innovative Learning Center. The ZND was created using the database user interface tool VFront, a free open source user front-end for MySQL and PostgreSQL databases. Researchers around the globe input their results (including both positive and negative findings) into ZND, collectively generating a useful new bioinformatics-based tool for zebrafish behavioral research. The experimental data in ZND is categorized by qualifiers (e.g., PI, zebrafish strain/age/sex, experimental manipulation, behavior or behavior paradigm used). Key words, included in the description of each experimental finding, facilitate accuracy when using the ZND search engine for advanced sorting and visualization of behavioral and statistical data, or search for the original publications. Scientists are able to use this database to access the results of recent research projects and other zebrafish studies, determine effective experimental treatments, search for specific protocols, and compare their results with similar experiments performed by other teams. ZND improves the collection and organization of vast amounts of physiological and neurobehavioral data in a single, accessible location. The database is hosted on a secure up-to-date professional-grade Pulse web server maintained by the Tulane University Technology Services with automatic nightly back-up and hurricane disaster recovery. The ZND team has a full access to the ZND site via SFTP, and admin access to the database for personal backups.