NFDI4Immuno: Building a FAIR Research Data Infrastructure for Immunological Data

The complexity and diversity of immunological data requires robust and standardized research data management (RDM) solutions to advance scientific discovery. NFDI4Immuno addresses this challenge by developing a network of federated institutional repositories specifically designed for immunological data. The consortium brings together 15 partners across Germany to implement the FAIR principles across the immunological data landscape. The technical architecture of NFDI4Immuno includes software stacks and automated pipelines. These initially focus on Adaptive Immune Receptor Repertoire Sequencing (AIRR-seq) and cytometry data and future plans include expanding support to other immunological data classes like reactivity and immunopeptidomics. The federated repository infrastructure enables researchers to deposit, discover and access high quality immunological data while maintaining appropriate access management and provenance tracking. A key component is the metadata model, designed for compliance with DCAT-AP and HealthDCAT-AP standards to facilitate standardization and interoperability while accommodating the complex and diverse nature of immunological datasets. At its core, NFDI4Immuno works towards seamless interoperability with other life sciences NFDI consortia, particularly GHGA, NFDI4Health, NFDI4Microbiota and NFDI4BIOIMAGE. Additional efforts focus on mapping to and integrating with existing external resources such as the AIRR Data Commons, creating harmonized data access and standardized data representations. This interoperability strategy enables cross-domain data discovery and reuse, facilitating novel insights at the intersection of immunology and related disciplines. By establishing this specialized research data infrastructure, NFDI4Immuno contributes to the NFDI's capabilities to provide domain-specific RDM solutions. The consortium engages in cross-consortium collaboration in technical development, standards alignment and community engagement, ultimately strengthening the German and European research data infrastructure landscape.