Learning Center

The Pediatric CTRC maintains a Learning Center located in the (Bio)Informatics Core offices. This resource contains several computers and printers with a wide variety of software applications (see list below). These systems are available to principal investigators, co-investigators and study coordinators to assist them with their research.

The following are examples of how the Learning Center has been used:

• Learn new operating system software
• Experiment with open source software
• Load new software to check for stability; backward compatibility
• Learn how to use a new software package
• Run data through multiple statistical packages to compare results
• Tranform data from one file format to another
• Develop custom graphics for presentations or publications
• View computer-based training on DVD
• Explore 3D molecular structure modeling; Protein Databank
• Configure PDAs or wireless devices; sync with desktop
• Watch live Web-casts for educational purposes
• Hold a desktop video conference
• Learn how viruses work; how to recover from data/system losses

Our Windows-based system includes a Dell OptiPlex GX-240 with dual optical drives for CD and DVD reading/writing. We have all major statistical packages on this machine, including: SAS, JMP, STATA, SPSS, Statview, S-Plus, DSMB/Copy, Minitab, and a Methodologist Toolkit. Most applications are the current versions, but we often have multiple versions loaded on this machine. If an investigator of an approved study has special needs, please contact us since we may be able to obtain software at a greatly reduced rate through CU or other academic licensing agreements or obtain a demo version to evaluate. Typically we do not purchase software for a single study, or for a PIs personal use on their hardware.

We also have an iMac that has standard software available on it. Both of our systems are networked, with a color HP Deskjet printer connected to them.

We invite you to use these resources to your benefit, or suggest how we can make these areas more available or useful to support your ongoing learning, researach and career development. Contact either Jeff Magouirk (720-777-8373) or Swan Ellert (720-777-4223) in our (Bio)Informatics Core for more information.