DREAM BIG team governance
DREAM BIG consortium aims to explore how early life adversities and psychological processes impact the development of psychopathology from childhood to adulthood by analyzing data from six international birth cohorts. It seeks to identify modifiable factors in these pathways to develop interventions aimed at reducing adult psychopathologies, emphasizing equity, diversity, and inclusion in its research approach. Here we explore DREAM BIG team governance.
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Mission Statement and Purpose
It is the mission of the Developmental Research in Early Adversity Mental Health BIological Susceptibility and Gender (DREAM BIG) consortium to understand how exposure to major life events and cognitive and psychological processes during childhood and adolescence explain the pathway from prenatal adversity (maternal mood and/or sociodemographic disadvantage, child genetic susceptibility) and the emergence of psychopathology during childhood, adolescent, and/or adulthood through research, education and knowledge translation.
DREAM BIG will pursue this mission by harmonizing prenatal adversity, genetic susceptibility, psychopathology, and when possible major life events and cognitive and psychological processes data from six international birth cohorts: Maternal Adversity, Vulnerability and Neurodevelopment (MAVAN) (Canada), Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) (United Kingdom), The Generation R Study (GEN-R) (The Netherlands), Growing Up in Singapore Towards Healthy Outcomes (GUSTO) (Singapore), Prediction and prevention of preeclampsia and intrauterine growth restriction (PREDO) (Finland), and Norwegian Mother, Father and Child Cohort Study MOBA (Norway). Other birth cohorts may be asked to join the consortium at a later date.
DREAM BIG will investigate potential pathways from prenatal exposure to child, adolescent, and adult psychopathology within each DREAM BIG consortium cohort using the harmonized data, then conduct between-study heterogeneity analyses to that the observed effects can be reliably combined across studies, thus increasing the replicability of findings.
The purpose of DREAM BIG is to identify modifiable factors as early in the pathways which can be used to develop and implement intervention with the goal of reducing the rate of adult psychopathologies. In pursuing its mission, DREAM BIG is committed to implementing best practices for equity, diversity and inclusion both within the governance structure and composition of the research team and in its research.
DREAM BIG Members
Nominated Principal Member: Ashely Wazana, MD will serve as Nominated Principal Member
Principal Members: Individuals who are the principal investigator of the DREAM BIG consortium cohort and who perform research using DREAM BIG funds or DREAM BIG administrative, research, educational or knowledge translation resources are principal DREAM BIG members. The number of Principal members is equal to the number of DREAM BIG consortium cohorts. Principal members are voting members of the DREAM BIG Steering Committee. Principal members must adhere to the terms and policies as specified in this document and fulfill the obligations and responsibilities arising from the written agreement between the active member’s institution and the DREAM BIG hosting institution. Failure to do so can result in termination of active membership.
Active members: Investigators conducting research within a DREAM BIG consortium cohort whose work has direct impact on the DREAM BIG stated mission and purpose but who are not principal investigators of the consortium cohort. Active membership is granted by the DREAM BIG Steering committee.
Associate members: Associate members are individuals designated by Principal members of the DREAM BIG consortium cohorts (e.g., associate researchers, cohort coordinators, statisticiansled by ) who are actively involved in DREAM BIG research. Principal membership can also be granted to industry, government, other non-academic sectors, and international researchers interested in using DREAM BIG data on a time-limited basis. Associate membership is granted by the DREAM BIG Executive Committee.
Trainee members: Trainee member (e.g., postdoctoral fellows, graduate and undergraduate students) designated by Principal members to conduct DREAM BIG research.
DREAM BIG Projects
DREAM BIG projects are research, educational or knowledge translation activities which are initiated and led by DREAM BIG active members and use DREAM BIG funds, DREAM BIG
data, or DREAM BIG administrative, research, educational or knowledge translation resources. DREAM BIG projects need to be reviewed and approved by the DREAM BIG Steering Committee.
Investigators who are not DREAM BIG members who have secured or intend to apply for research grants with a project proposal that will require DREAM BIG funds, data, or resources are required to submit the grant proposal to the DREAM BIG Steering Committee for review and approval prior to submission to the granting agency in order to obtain an official DREAM BIG letter of support for the project. Projects arising from such DREAM BIG supported grant applications automatically become DREAM BIG projects and the projects’ Principal Investigator(s) become DREAM BIG active members.
DREAM BIG Steering Committee
Purpose: The DREAM BIG steering committee will oversee research, education and knowledge translation activities of DREAM BIG.
Composition: The DREAM BIG steering committee shall consist of voting members. The DREAM BIG steering committee Chair will be the Nominated Principal member.
Voting members: Voting members are the DREAM BIG Principal members.
Meeting and Decisions: The full DREAM BIG steering committee will convene for regular meetings every six (6) months, with additional meetings of the full DREAM BIG steering committee at the discretion of the DREAM BIG steering committee Chair as required. DREAM BIG steering committee meetings are expected to take place by videoconference. A minimum of 50% plus one member of the voting members as well as presence of the Chair or will be required for a meeting to proceed. Committee decisions shall generally be arrived at through consensus. If consensus cannot be reached, a vote will take place. A simple majority will rule. In case of a tied vote, the vote of the DREAM BIG steering committee Chair will decide.
Responsibilities: The DREAM BIG steering committee will be responsible for overseeing the conduct of all DREAM BIG research and educational projects, as well as knowledge translation activities.
DREAM BIG Investigator Meetings
Purpose: The The DREAM BIG investigator meetings will oversee research, education and knowledge translation activities of DREAM BIG.
Composition: The DREAM BIG Nominated Principal member and principal members. The DREAM BIG Active, Associate, and Trainee members deemed necessary..
Meeting and Decisions: Separate DREAM BIG investigator meetings will occur between Nominated Principal member and principal members of each DREAM BIG consortium cohort every two (2) weeks. DREAM BIG investigator meetings may include the Nominated Principal member and more than one Principal member when deemed necessary. DREAM BIG investigator meetings are expected to take place by videoconference. Any decision made during these meetings that might affect other DREAM BIG consortium cohorts will be discussed at the next scheduled Steering Committee meeting or sooner if deemed necessary.
Responsibilities: The DREAM BIG investigator will be responsible for overseeing the conduct of all DREAM BIG research within each individual DREAM BIG consortium cohort and any educational projects and knowledge translation activities.
DREAM BIG Research Ethics
Individual DREAM BIG consortium cohorts obtained (or will obtain for future data collection timepoints) research ethic approval from their host institution to collect and share their data. DREAM BIG conducts statistical analyses that are consistent with the approved primary hypotheses of individual DREAM BIG consortium cohorts. The Nominated Principal member has received written assurance that DREAM BIG analyses conducted at the Nominated Principal members host institution (Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research) is considered secondary analyses of existing approved data and requires no additional ethical approval..
DREAM BIG Data Storage and Sharing
Individual DREAM BIG consortium cohorts are responsible for storing their data following rules stipulated by their individual research ethics boards.
Individual DREAM BIG consortium cohorts are responsible for maintaining their master contact lists containing identifying participant information following rules stipulated by their individual research ethics boards.
Only anonymized data are shared between individual DREAM BIG consortium cohorts.
Data transfer agreements following the rules stipulated by the DREAM BIG consortium cohort institutions are obtained before data transfer is conducted.
All data transferred between DREAM BIG consortium cohorts are stored on secure servers using password protected files.
Access to transferred data is provided by the Principal members of individual DREAM BIG consortium cohorts.
All DREAM BIG consortium cohorts will use DREAM BIG data in compliance with applicable privacy and confidentiality laws and will limit access to data to those for whom access is required and will not transfer the data to any unauthorized third parties.
DREAM BIG Publication Policy
All research questions must be proposed in writing to the DREAM BIG Steering Committee. Research questions can be proposed by the Nominated Principal member, Principal members, Active members, Associate members, and Trainee members. Proposed research questions are reviewed by the DREAM BIG steering committee which can request modifications.
Accepted research questions are supervised by the specific DREAM BIG consortium Principal member, designated Active and/or Associate members of the specific DREAM BIG consortium cohort, and the Nominated Principal member.
All manuscripts arising from the accepted research question are first reviewed by the specific DREAM BIG consortium Principal member, designated Active and/or Associate members of the specific DREAM BIG consortium cohort, and the Nominated Principal member.
Final review of all manuscripts is reviewed by all Principal members and Active, Associate, and/or Trainee members from the remaining DREAM BIG consortium cohorts who were directly involved in the analyses or writing of the manuscript.
The DREAM BIG principal member who acts as a lead investigator for a DREAM BIG consortium cohort from which the publications arise acts as corresponding author and reserves the right to determine the order in which author(s) and co-author(s) are listed on the publication in conjunction with the authorship rules stipulated by the targeted journal.
DREAM BIG publications must be published in accordance with the CIHR Tri-Council policy on open-
access.
Copyright of DREAM BIG publications is held by the principal member who acts as lead investigator for the DREAM BIG project and the Nominated Principal member.
DREAM BIG publications must acknowledge all DREAM BIG sponsors as per respective research grant agreements.
DREAM BIG Trainee Supervision
All Trainee members using DREAM BIG data will be co-supervised by the Principal member of the
Trainee member’s host institution and the Nominated Principal member.