Joshua Melville Awarded NIH Research Specialist Grant
Congratulations to Joshua Melville, MSc, on receiving an R50 NIH Research Software Engineer (RSE) grant. The award supports career development for software engineers in essential research roles who use their skills to develop NIH-funded research software, tools and algorithms. Melville, who is head of development & design at the I.AIM Center for Computational & Social Sciences in Health (COMPASS) and senior research associate in the Department of Medical Social Sciences, is creator and lead developer of Network Canvas, a free and open-source software platform for surveying networks.
Continuously funded by the NIH for nearly a decade, Network Canvas has enabled researchers to deploy network interviews directly to their research participants. At least 65 NIH-funded studies, spanning topics such as opioid use disorder and social influences on microbial communities, have used the tool.
I am thrilled to receive my first award as principal investigator. This is a rare opportunity to promote sustainability, and is validation of our commitment to open standards and open-source development.”
Senior Research Associate, Department of Medical Social Sciences
Lead of Development & Design, I.AIM Center for Computational & Social Sciences in Health (COMPASS)
With R50 support, Melville will update technical aspects of Network Canvas and support offline interviewing with a cloud interview app. Through community engagement and the production of high-quality resources, the maintainability, security and sustainability of the project will be strengthened.
As for career goals, Melville said, “My personal mission is to develop human-centered tools that empower individuals. I look forward to continuing to build software like Network Canvas which enables researchers to scientifically examine the ways in which social systems impact the health of individuals.”
Mr. Melville’s sustained dedication to designing, building and enhancing open-source digital tools for the benefit of health science is remarkable. His eye for design has allowed us to produce intuitive and beautiful data capture tools.”
Director, I.AIM Center for Computational and Social Sciences in Health (COMPASS)
Associate Professor of Medical Social Sciences and Preventive Medicine
Research software engineers play a critical role in the research ecosystem. “Mechanisms like the R50, awarded to the RSE themself, are absolutely essential in helping institutions recognize the value of RSEs and provide much needed career stability," said Birkett.
Learn more about Network Canvas by visiting the website.
The R50 is supported by the National Institute of Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health under project number 1R50DA065541-01.