Due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, you may not be in your lab or able to use your normal set of tools. The Michael J. Fox Foundation is doing everything we can to support the Parkinson’s research community during this time. One way we are keeping research moving is by making it easier to access and analyze our datasets.
The Fox Insight Data Exploration Network (better known as Fox DEN) is a data platform that contains patient-reported outcomes and genetic data from the Fox Insight online clinical study. And we’ve created a new video to help you get started.
Using Fox DEN
After a brief introduction to Fox DEN and the registration process, Luba Smolensky and Ninad Amondikar from our research data and analytics team show you how to define cohorts and perform analyses in Fox DEN. The platform now includes data from more than 45,000 participants — the largest cohort of patient-reported outcomes in Parkinson’s — and more join the study every day. In addition to completing regular questionnaires, they can also participate in a genetic sub-study and answer one-time surveys on topics relevant in Parkinson’s. New data is added to the platform monthly; the latest additions include data from surveys on medical cannabis use and mindfulness and meditation practices. More details are available in our recent data descriptor paper.
Other Data Portals
Fox DEN is our most user-friendly data platform, but we invite you to explore others that may be of interest. The AMP PD Knowledge Portal, which launched in November 2019, contains harmonized data from cerebrospinal fluid, RNA, plasma and DNA samples collected through four studies. AMP PD recently created a webinar series to help users navigate the platform. And the PPMI RNA-Sequencing Project, accessible through the Parkinson’s Progression Markers Initiative website, includes sequencing data from 1,589 people across cohorts with clinical and genetic Parkinson’s risk factors, idiopathic and genetically implicated patients and control volunteers. You can also visit our website for information on all available data sets.
Data sharing is critical to Parkinson’s research progress. MJFF will continue to make our data accessible and we plan to provide more resources over the next several months to support data use. Register now for access to Fox DEN and start exploring.