Managing sensitive phenotypic data and biomaterial in large-scale collaborative psychiatric genetic research projects: practical considerations

Large-scale collaborative research will be a hallmark of future psychiatric genetic research. Ideally, both academic and non-academic institutions should be able to participate in such collaborations to allow for the establishment of very large samples in a straightforward manner. Any such endeavor requires an easy-to-implement information technology (IT) framework. Here we present the requirements for a centralized framework and describe how they can be met through a modular IT toolbox. Molecular Psychiatry (2012) 17, 1180-1185; doi: 10.1038/mp.2012.11; published online 6 March 2012