The Cell Image Library
The NIH/NIGMS supported Cell Image Library (CIL) provides a generalized and personalized data-federation system for cell biology. The CIL provides for the community a resource that organizes data comprising cells and subcellular scenes, connecting images, image volumes, and annotations across allied resources via semantic links (Orloff et al., 2012). This system leverages computational workflows to facilitate the generation of fully segmented, 3D structural models ready for meshing, discretization, and use in assembling more complete, realistic, and accurate models for simulations. The goal of the system is to facilitate studies that require combinations of molecular and cellular contexts or evaluation of the impact of molecular changes found in diseases on the functioning of a cell in its tissue context. The CIL also provides unique support for managing large data, in particular, massive individual 3D datasets (e.g., EM tomography and serial block face scanning EM datasets), including streamlined workflows for researchers to store their data, process them at scale, and provide community access to them. The CIL is comprised of open-source software with user interfaces and services targeted to two distinct usage needs: 1) an internal system for biomedical researchers to upload, organize, process, and selectively share project data prior to publication, and 2) a searchable, public-facing website for users to disseminate open data (published and openly shareable unpublished data and data products [e.g., reconstructions, segmented models, etc.]) to facilitate experiment replication, further analysis, and/or reuse/repurpose.
Visit the Cell Image Library at http://cellimagelibrary.org.