Biomedical Informatics Research Network (BIRN) Tools

Biomedical Informatics Research Network (BIRN) is committed to helping biomedical researchers access the software tools they need to pursue next-generation research. They offer access to a range of shareware software tools in the public domain.

The Biomedical Informatics Research Network (BIRN) is a national initiative to advance biomedical research through data sharing and online collaboration. Funded by the National Center for Research Resources (NCRR), a component of the US National Institutes of Health (NIH), BIRN provides data-sharing infrastructure, software tools, strategies and advisory services – all from a single source.

BIRN provides a user-driven, software-based framework for research teams to share significant quantities of data – rapidly, securely and privately – across geographic distance and/or incompatible computing systems. Groups may choose whether to share data internally or with external audiences. In either scenario, hardware and data remain under the control of individual user groups.

BIRN also offers data-sharing software tools specific to biomedical research, best practices references, expert advice and other resources. BIRN actively is developing new data-sharing tools, authorization capability, and knowledge engineering tools to help researchers make sense of new information in unique ways.