SPARC Plug Spring 2025

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SPARC is Here to Stay

As we navigate change together, we want to be clear: The SPARC Portal is here to stay.

SPARC offers a growing array of tools and resources, developed by and for the neuroscience and physiology community, to support mapping, visualization, and simulation. The SPARC Portal hosts a wide range of expertly curated datasets, ensuring high-quality, reusable data that aligns with FAIR standards and sharing policies. Through the Portal, researchers benefit from the opportunity to collaborate with a global community of scientists, building interdisciplinary connections.

The SPARC Portal will continue to be regularly updated with new features and improvements, enriching what is offered and continuously delivering ease of use. The SPARC Portal currently supports four consortia, SPARC Program, NIH RE-JOIN HEAL, NIH PRECISION Human Pain Network, and VITAL. The Portal now covers much more than the autonomic nervous system. Stay tuned, as additional consortia come onboard, as well.

What can you do?

• Share your resources through the SPARC Portal
• Join the SPARC mailing list
• Follow SPARC on Bluesky, LinkedIn, and YouTube
• Share SPARC with other researchers in your community

SPARC News

SPARC Portal continues to grow

The SPARC Portal continues to grow, hosting a total of 336 datasets, including 2421 research datasets, 47 computational models, and 47 anatomical models.

Improved metrics for contributor impact

When sharing a dataset on the SPARC Portal, you are now able to get a sense of how your dataset is being accessed by the community. The Metrics tab on the Dataset Details page, previously known as the References tab, has been enhanced to provide a more comprehensive view of dataset impact.

This updated section now highlights key indicators such as citations, downloads, and protocol views. It offers valuable insight into how your datasets are being used and recognized within the scientific community.

Together, these metrics provide a clearer picture of dataset engagement and influence. As a contributor, you can monitor usage trends, demonstrate impact, and identify opportunities for further visibility and outreach.

Accessing expert knowledge about PNS connectivity just got easier

As a key component of the SPARC project, the SCKAN knowledgebase serves as a powerful resource to populate, discover, and query PNS connectivity between the central nervous system and end organs over multiple scales, species, and organs. SCKAN was designed to represent anatomical connections in a way that details routing information using a neuron-based model to represent origins, terminations, and the nerves through which they travel. The interactive connectivity maps shown on the SPARC Portal then use this information to provide an anchor to explore the data and models already contributed to the Portal.

Read our first paper, “Developing a multiscale neural connectivity knowledgebase of the autonomic nervous system”, describing SCKAN and how connectivity knowledge is established, curated, and augmented. Check out SCKAN NLI–—our ChatGPT-like interface for the SPARC knowledgebase. Here’s a tutorial on how to get started. Have feedback? Reach out to the Knowledge Core (K-Core).

The top image shows, a response by ChatGPT to “draw the neural pathways to the ovary” shows extensive errors and hallucinations.

In contrast the bottom image, when asked the same question, SCKAN NLI provides detailed sympathetic and parasympathetic pathways to the ovary; which includes clear references to the source information, because instead of retrieving information from the entire internet, SCKAN NLI is constrained to SCKAN.

AWS Open Data Sponsorship delivers benefits to SPARC community

Through our acceptance into the Amazon Web Services Open Data Ecosystem Sponsorship Program, downloading datasets from SPARC will soon be free for two years with the potential to extend beyond that time frame.

View the SPARC page on the Registry of Open Data on AWS.

A Diversity of Data

Explore the SPARC Portal to discover the diverse range of data we publish, which comes from various funding sources, including NIH, DoD, EU, and non-governmental organizations. Whether you're studying the function of entire organs, the development of tissues, or the intricate details of individual genetic variants, our Portal enables you to navigate across multiple dimensions, model systems, and research modalities. Here’s a few recent additions.

• The Weber Lab at Carnegie Mellon University characterized the recruitment and maintenance of action potential firing in Aα/β-fibers generated during tonic dorsal root ganglion stimulation (DRGS) applied over a range of clinically relevant stimulation parameters. Explore Brian’s dataset.
• Next, take a look at Max Li’s project, which evaluates the functionality of a Parylene C cuff electrode as an acute stimulating electrode for the rat sciatic nerve. The cuff utilizes unique properties of thin film Parylene C to exhibit self-sizing and soft-closing capabin. Explore Max's dataset.

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Find out how you can share your data on SPARC

SPARC Webinar Research Series—Bridging the body and brain

The SPARC Webinar Research Series, a set of webinars showcasing groundbreaking contributions from research teams who have shared their data and models on the SPARC Portal, launched in April. The first two webinars are available on SPARC’s YouTube channel.

Dr. David Nickerson, PhD, Auckland Bioengineering Institute, University of Auckland, New Zealand, will be presenting at 3pm on May 28 EDT. Register for “Visual exploration and dynamic interaction for SPARC”.

These sessions provide unique insights into cutting-edge science, offering a deep dive into topics at the forefront of biomedical research, straight from the scientists themselves. See a detailed schedule and register for upcoming webinars.

The 2025 SPARC FAIR Codeathon has launched!

Over the past five years, the SPARC FAIR Codeathon has grown into a dynamic global event that brings together researchers, data scientists, developers, and open science enthusiasts to solve real-world challenges in FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable) data and software. The creativity, collaboration, and impact of past Codeathons have been incredible—from building tools to make datasets easier to explore, to automating curation workflows, to visualizing complex biomedical data. This year, we’re hoping to build on that momentum with exciting new challenges, broader participation, and even more support for team success. Key dates to know:

• May 8 – Project Pitch & Team Leader Sign-up Opens
• June 18 – Team Sign-up Opens
• July 18 – Team Sign-up Closes
• July 25 – Team Assignments Set
• August 2–4 – Codeathon Weekend
• August 11 – Winners Announced

Whether you’re a first-time participant or a returning contributor, this is your chance to join an international community working to make science more open, collaborative, and FAIR.

Project Pitch is open now through June 8th. You can get started right now to help shape one of the most exciting open science events of the year. If you’re interested in pitching a project or being a Team Lead, consider these project ideas that highlight areas where your contributions could have a big impact.

USD$20,000 is the total prize pool, including cash prizes and manuscript publication fees.
We invite you to take part in this exciting opportunity to advance open science and drive progress in neuroscience research on a global scale. Whether you’re interested in pitching a project, leading a team, or joining as a collaborator, we welcome your participation.

PRECISION Consortia author commentary about next generation pain therapeutics

A Neuroview commentary penned by the NIH PRECISION Human Pain Network consortia was published recently in Neuron. It dives into the recent approval of suzetrigine for acute pain treatment, and explores the development of new pain therapies primarily in human-based systems. Read more here: https://www.cell.com/neuron/abstract/S0896-6273(25)00261-2

SPARC attends Interoception: Neural Sensing and Control of Organ Function

SPARC was a sponsor of the inaugural Interoception: Neural Sensing and Control of Organ Function Symposium, held April 22-24, at the Allen Institute in Seattle WA. The symposium brought together experts from many fields such as neuroscience, immunology, physiology, engineering, and theory to share ideas and advance understanding of this sixth sense and its implications in health and disease. Several members of the SPARC Community attended and presented posters of their research activities.

This event served as a platform to aid cross-disciplinary insights in this rapidly growing field. It was clear from the event that SPARC provides a natural home for the interoception community, offering shared data, tools, and models to support research about body-brain communication. Engagement from the Interoception community with SPARC could expand the Portal in ways that benefit both individual researchers and the field as a whole.

SPARC attends 2025 American Physiology Summit (APS)

SPARC attended the 2025 American Physiology Summit (APS) April 24-27, in Baltimore MD, where thousands of life science researchers, educators, and students explored the latest breakthroughs in physiology. The team shared how SPARC’s data-sharing platform, modeling and simulation tools, and collaborative network can enhance your research. Our experts were available to discuss how the SPARC community helps advance research with open science and build meaningful partnerships within the scientific community.

Two workshops were offered, covering essential topics like data curation offerings, research tools, and how leveraging SPARC’s open resources can boost scientific discoveries.

Funding Opportunities

Title: BRAIN Initiative: New Technologies and Novel Approaches for Recording and Modulation in the Nervous System (R01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)

Agency/Organization: National Institutes of Health (NIH)

Expiration: January 21, 2026

Link: https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-NS-24-004.html

Title: Notice of Special Interest (NOSI): Promoting Data Reuse for Health Research [NOT-OD-24-096]

Agency/Organization: National Institutes of Health (NIH)

Expiration: Nov 4, 2026

Link: https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-24-096.html

Conferences

Neural Interfaces

June 12-14, 2025, Arlington, VA

Neural Interfaces 2025 is the next in the biennial Neural Interfaces Conference Series that provides a forum for state-of-the-art developments spanning from basic science to clinical implementation and from invasive to non-invasive technologies in neuromodulation, bioelectronic medicines, sensory and motor neuroprostheses, neural plasticity, biomaterials, electrode technologies, brain computer/machine interfaces, and other related areas.

Find more information on Neural Interfaces 2025 here.

Gordon Research Seminar Inhibition in the CNS

July 5-6, 2025, Newry, ME

The Inhibition in the CNS GRS 2025 is on July 5-6 in Maine, followed by the Inhibition conference on July 6-11. Topics include GABAergic neurons, inhibitory modulation, and computational modeling. Apply now!

Apply by June 7, 2025 to attend the Gordon Research Seminar Inhibition in the CNS

SPARC Webinars Available

Visit SPARC's Webinar YouTube channel for all our webinars.

SPARC Annual Report 2025 Available

The annual public report, describing highlights and plans for the SPARC platform, is available to download. The report covers the SPARC research community, new portal functionality, the open development framework, and steps towards sustainability.

Read the SPARC 2025 Annual Report

How you can help

Help Shape the SPARC Portal

We want you to influence the continuous improvement of the SPARC Portal. Your participation in our UX research and design activities will make the Portal easier to use. We encourage everyone to get involved.

Join our UX Panel at [email protected]

SPARC DRC Open Office Hours

Join one of our weekly office hours to ask questions and learn more from the SPARC Data Resource Center Team. Find out more about our office hours on the SPARC Help Center.

Share with SPARC

Whether you are an individual researcher, manage a program or a project funder interested in the peripheral nervous system, consider sharing your data on SPARC. Find out more about sharing  on the SPARC Portal.