Connecting researchers to the right technology and resources for their needs is one of the main initiatives of the new Research IT program launched by Technology Services in Spring 2018. With the help of two Research IT consultants, one researcher was able to solve a long-standing problem that was hindering her progress.
A Large (Animal) Problem
Dr. Annette McCoy, an equine surgeon at the University of Illinois Veterinary Teaching Hospital in Urbana, was having some major data storage problems. “I work on data-intensive genetics projects, so data storage is always on my radar. But my current project has a lot of video data, which doesn’t really fit within the storage paradigm I’m used to.”
The College of Veterinary Medicine did not have additional physical storage options (like external hard drives) for Dr. McCoy. She also didn’t have extra research funds for purchasing additional storage, and was concerned about the safety of storing her data solely externally. “So, I’ve been looking for an alternative solution for over a year.”
Cue Research IT
After a recommendation from an IT manager at her college, Dr. McCoy attended the College of Veterinary Medicine's Research Day and approached the Research IT consultants to share her struggles.
There were a few key pieces of information to consider:
- Space: She needed large amounts of storage space for videos (unlimited and long-term storage) for her ongoing research project.
- Access and Location: She needed her students to be able to easily upload, share, and access the files on their own so that she could review and collaborate with them.
- Cost: Her research grant did not have funds for storage, so it had to be as inexpensive as possible.
Amy Hovious and Chris Kuehn, both consultants with Research IT at Technology Services, offered to personally visit Dr. McCoy at her office to see her process and figure out a solution.
While visiting, Chris asked Dr. McCoy about her familiarity with U of I Box. Although she did use Box for some storage, she explained that with the limited storage capacity she was unable to use it for most of her files.
Thinking Inside the Box
Starting Fall 2017, Technology Services was able to negotiate unlimited storage through U of I Box that is now available to all students, staff and faculty of Illinois. Although this fantastic feature was shared across campus, word had not reached McCoy. “This is exactly what Research IT is all about,” said Hovious of the interaction, “this was a free, already available solution, and we just connected the researcher to it.”
When asked about the impact of the consultation, Dr. McCoy replied, “I was amazed that the solution was so simple (and free)! I had never even considered Box as an option because of the sheer size of my storage needs. I have lots of students working for me on this project, so having a place where they can directly upload their data from any computer will hugely simplify things moving forward.”
Hovious said one of the main benefits of the experience was that it “opened a dialog about other issues that we weren’t able to resolve immediately, but were able to take back with us and share with the right people who might be able the solve the problem.”
As a new team, Research IT is in its infancy right now. But they are already proving useful to Illinois researchers. “We are excited to see how it continues to develop and improve and connect more researchers to the resources they need.”
To learn more about Research IT, visit their website and portal at https://researchit.illinois.edu/
To learn more about Dr. Annette McCoy’s ongoing research visit: https://www.horsetalk.co.nz/2016/01/14/chromosome-14-bone-disease-standardbreds/
