Our first project is the establishment of a disease commons, TB Commons.  The word “commons” in the digital space means what it does in physical space: It is a shared, public place for collecting and disseminating resources for a community.   In this case the community is those interested in advancing clinical research for tuberculosis.

The TBCommons.org website provides an easy to use yet very powerful tool, ClinicalCollections, for viewing clinical studies on clinicaltrials.gov.  One can quickly see a collection of TB studies, easily filter the data and view helpful mash-ups such as timeline and maps of trial site locations.  We have also provided an AnswerForum for the community to post questions and receive answers related to TB research.  All capabilities are offered freely to the community with no login required and all information available under Creative Commons Zero (public domain, no restrictions) license.

Our goal with TB Commons is to provide value to the TB research community to help advance clinical research on the new set of molecules and vaccines in clinical development.  We also hope to learn from the community on their needs as we continue to advance on open data, applied utilities and social engagement for advancing clinical research.  Got ideas?  Please drop a comment or contact us.