History of SPARC

Foundation and Growth

The SPARC Program was founded in 2015 through a Common Fund initiative by the National Institutes of Health, with the goal of accelerating the development of therapeutic devices that modulate electrical activity in nerves to improve major organ function.

The role of the SPARC Data and Resource Center (SPARC DRC) has been to create a publicly available, multifunctional online hub facilitating coordination, synthesis, and prediction via four core functions: Data Coordination, Map Synthesis, Modeling and Simulation, and Knowledge Management. The research scope has grown and continues to grow driven by the inputs of the SPARC Program and the needs of the contributing research community. Visit the SPARC Help Center to find out more about the SPARC DRC and how it is structured. This is where the SPARC Portal was born.

The SPARC DRC established a number of key priorities for the SPARC Portal. These include adherence to the FAIR Data Principles, the NIH Data Management and Sharing Policy, and continued focus on sustainability. In addition, the SPARC Portal focuses on an open source approach, this includes creating API libraries to allow external parties to utilize SPARC Portal functionality and the establishment of SPARC Codeathons - a cloud-based virtual hackathon where global teams work on exciting projects using SPARC data and/or tools and resources in novel ways. These include enhancing, demonstrating, and measuring the findability, accessibility, interoperability, and re-use (FAIRness) of digital assets.

The SPARC Program has funded research that was split into two phases. When SPARC Phase 1 started, the initial focus was on the Autonomic Nervous System and how to use the process of “Stimulating Peripheral Activity to Relieve Conditions”, which is how the SPARC acronym was born. Since then, the SPARC Portal has grown to have greater anatomical coverage, more tools and functionality, increased types of research, and more community outreach.

• Anatomical coverage: Initially only Autonomic Nervous System, the SPARC Program and Portal has grown to cover the Peripheral Nervous System brain stem and down
• Types of research: It started with Datasets and Computational Models both were released on Day 1 of the SPARC Portal. This was followed shortly by Anatomical Models. In the near future Devices will also be added to the SPARC Portal
• Tools and Portal Functionality: The SPARC Portal has grown from a simple way of downloading research to an interactive online repository. Functionality such as interactive maps, viewers, and extensive metadata have enabled users to find and use data on the SPARC Portal. Additional tools such as o²S²PARC have given users the chance to run computational models without the requirement to have their own environment
• Outreach: Starting with only research data created with SPARC Program Phase 1 funding, the SPARC Portal has grown to accept data from other Consortia. Both the NIH PRECISION Human Pain Network Re-JOIN and NIH PRECISION Human Pain Network programs have selected the SPARC Portal as the home for their research. The SPARC Portal is now an open repository and accepts research from any institution or organization, irrespective of their funding.

Key Initiatives and Research Areas

The main initiatives of SPARC Program Phase 1 were broken down into five key components:

• Map connections among a variety of different nerves and organ systems
• Support the development of new tools and technologies
• Support translational partnerships for human functional mapping and new indications
• Create a rich public resource, resulting in the SPARC Portal
• Support anatomical and functional mapping of neural circuitry mediating visceral pain.

The SPARC Program has now entered Phase 2 and is looking to build on the accomplishments of Phase 1 by focusing on three components:

• Map the anatomy and functional connectivity of the human vagus nerve
• Build a new ecosystem of open-specification neuromodulation device components
• Challenge the innovator community to demonstrate new capabilities.

In addition to the Phase 1 & 2 funded research teams, the NIH established the Neuromod Prize as part of the SPARC Program. The competition seeks groundbreaking uses of peripheral nerve stimulation that can independently regulate two or more desired autonomic functions without unintended effects on non-target organs.

Milestones and Achievements

Throughout the lifetime of SPARC there have been a number of major milestones and achievements:

• 2015 - Sep - NIH funds Phase 1 research teams
• 2017 - Aug - First SPARC Codeathon
• 2019 - Jul - SPARC Portal launches
• 2019 - Jul - First contribution of research published
• 2021 - Jan - SPARC Program Phase 2 approved
• 2021 - Jul - First global SPARC Codeathon
• 2021 - Nov - 100th contribution of research published
• 2022 - Jan - Neuromod Prize established
• 2022 - Jul - 200th contribution of research published
• 2022 - Sep - NIH funds Phase 2 research teams
• 2022 - Nov - RE-JOIN selects SPARC Portal to host RE-JOIN data
• 2023 - Jan - SPARC Portal becomes an Open Repository
• 2023 - Dec - SPARC Data Structure endorsed by INCF as a community standard
• 2023 - Dec - PRECISION Human Pain Network selects SPARC Portal to host their data
• 2023 - Dec- SPARC Portal is designated HEAL compliant repository
• 2024 - Mar - 300th contribution of research published

To see the future plans for SPARC, please view the SPARC Portal Roadmap which describes how SPARC will continue to grow.