Spotlight on: Kiana Moghaddam
Every other week, the Thematic DCCs and the Data Steward Interest Group (DSIG) put the spotlight on one research data steward working in the Netherlands, to stimulate knowledge exchange and peer-to-peer learning.
What drew you towards the research data management field?
During my PhD and postdoctoral research in computational chemistry, I worked with large amounts of data. I realized how good data management could help me follow up on the research, especially when Master’s and PhD students were involved in my project. When I came across the Data steward job vacancy at the University Medical Center Groningen (UMCG), the job was quite new to me but looked very interesting. Since I wanted to stay within academia and work with researchers in a support role, I found that this job resonates perfectly with my passion.
What is an activity/task of your role that you find yourself looking forward to?
I enjoy the variety of activities we have at the Digital Competence Center (DCC) of UMCG. I'm actively involved in expanding the UMCG Research Data Catalogue, where I enjoy meeting with researchers to encourage them to add their metadata. One of my favorite aspects of this work is extending the metadata model to include a wider range of research beyond cohorts and biobanks. I also like reviewing data management plans and helping researchers in making their data FAIR. Collaboration with my colleagues and other research support teams is particularly fulfilling, as it directly contributes to helping researchers achieve their goals. During our FAIRification project, I enjoy helping the academic departments in FAIRifying their data by completing our FAIR tools to identify and address gaps. I believe that providing valuable tools and organizing FAIR events and workshops significantly raises awareness of FAIR data practices among researchers—an activity I especially enjoy.
What is something unexpected that you can offer help with, if a colleague reaches out to you?
I actively contribute to the team working on extending the UMCG Research Data Catalogue. I can use this knowledge and network to support researchers and collaborate with the community. Also, as a theoretician experienced with various software, my background helps me understand the challenges of managing research software and ensuring it complies with FAIR principles.
What do you think your community of research data professionals is missing?
I think within universities, the role and importance of Digital Competence Centers and data stewardship are often underrecognized by researchers. Many may not fully understand the benefits or requirements of Research Data Management (RDM) and Open Science. To better integrate these practices into the research culture, promoting them through institutional leadership and targeted training programs for researchers would be beneficial. Additionally, clearly defining the functional roles and responsibilities of data stewards, and embedding them within research departments would enhance their impact and create a clearer career path for advancing data stewardship. In addition to general data stewardship roles, I see a need for advanced training on metadata that focuses on creating and managing high-quality metadata across various research domains. Addressing this gap would empower both data stewards and researchers. Moreover, creating a harmonized platform for sharing best practices in RDM across different domains would further support researchers in adopting RDM principles throughout their research endeavors.
What is a topic you would want to collaborate on with others?
I would like to collaborate on improving RDM practices in health and life science domains to address specific challenges in these fields. In particular, I am interested in the development of metadata models and expanding the metadata catalogue. This collaboration would enable us to incorporate feedback from researchers, ensuring that the metadata model and catalogue meet the needs of the research community, ultimately supporting more efficient research.
How would you like to see your current field of work evolve in the next 5 years?
In the coming years, I would like to see specialized RDM platforms tailored to the specific needs of different research domains, providing centralized resources and best practices that enhance data management, sharing, and reuse across various fields. In addition, I hope to see greater visibility and integration of data stewards within research institutions. As their essential role in research success becomes more recognized, data stewards will gain greater prominence, leading to improved career progression opportunities. Let's work together to ensure data stewardship gains recognition and impact.
Get in touch with Kiana on LinkedIn
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