Resources
Case Study: Newborn Screening Translational Research Network
Web Site Redesign and Migration
The Newborn Screening Translational Research Network needed a website that could be updated easily and under their control, to provide researchers with robust newborn screening resources.
The Client
The Newborn Screening Translational Research Network (NBSTRN) is a resource for investigators engaged in newborn screening related research. This may include new technology development, the clinical history or heritable disorders, and new therapy development.
The NBSTRN is funded by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), National Institutes of Health (NIH). Partner agencies include the Association for Public Health Laboratories (APHL), American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), Genetic Alliance (GA), National Newborn Screening & Genetics Resource Center (NNSGRC), Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), National Library of Medicine (NLM), and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The Challenge
Managing complex content from a variety of stakeholders in a fast-paced virtual world is difficult to manage, from both a content and organizational standpoint. Attempting to modify and create new content at pace with the flow of information, in the ever-changing newborn screening landscape, was also a challenge. The American College of Medical Genetics (ACMG) engaged 5AM Solutions to work with its NBSTRN staff to migrate the old NBSTRN web site into a Drupal open source content management system (CMS) to improve the abilities of the NBSTRN staff to maintain the site as needed, without requiring detailed knowledge of html or deployment skills.
The Result
5AM engaged with the NBSTRN to analyze the existing NBSTRN web site and produced a basic site map of content that led to the design of pages and page levels, functionality, and flow of the site experience. 5AM then produced templates and design mockups based on the new design templates, and trained NBSTRN staff on how to use the content management system. 5AM's experience in website design, usability, and information architecture, combined with our focus on the life sciences, allowed us a fast understanding of the problem, risks, and opportunities the project could present to its sponsors, so that we could engage and be effective instantly.
The Drupal CMS now allows NBSTRN to publish, manage, and organize a wide variety of content, such as videos, texts, publications, and statistics in real time. The website provides a single point of entry for all NBSTRN services including access to the Virtual Repository of Dried Blood Spots (VRDBS), workgroup collaboration sites, a research informatics system, long term follow up (LTFU) data associated with dried blood spots, as well as a knowledge base of additional resources, publications, and research findings associated with DBS. NBSTRN has precise control over URL structure, can create user roles with custom access levels for all stakeholders, and can create new content types and advanced custom views without programming knowledge or writing any code. View the NBSTRN-maintained website at http://www.nbstrn.org.
Simplicity is Always Key
5AM specializes is complex web applications that connect people with health information, and also applies our expertise in design, usability, and user experience to creating content-managed websites that our clients can manage on their own. Contact Leslie Power at lpower at 5amsolutions com or 202-359-0990 to discuss.