Dream Challenges

What is a DREAM Challenge?

The Dialogue on Reverse Engineering Assessment and Methods (DREAM)—better known as DREAM Challenges—are an open science, collaborative challenge framework. A DREAM Challenge poses one or more questions within a scientific domain to the biomedical research community to spur innovative solutions. DREAM has successfully run over 50 Challenges in multiple disease and biomedical domains spanning basic, translational, and clinical research. Over 25,000 unique individuals from around the world with diverse backgrounds in the biological, medical, and quantitative sciences have participated in Challenges. While DREAM leverages the psychology of competition to incentivize groups, the mission of DREAM Challenges is to collectively and collaboratively advance human health through a deeper understanding of biology and disease. 

Examples of previous Challenges include:

CD2H DREAM Challenges and the CTSA Program:

CD2H brings DREAM Challenges to the CTSA Program to help promote collaborative development and dissemination of innovative informatics solutions to accelerate translational science and improve patient care. CD2H and DREAM have partnered to host a series of CTSA Challenges focused on computational topics and scientific questions relevant to CTSA. There are many informatics areas that could benefit from DREAM Challenges, including creation of benchmarks, algorithms, and other solutions for phenotype and outcome prediction, natural language processing, (NLP), image classification, and other quantitative areas of biomedicine. DREAM Challenges help leverage these strengths and provide a platform to facilitate cross hub collaboration and productive industry partnerships.

The following different levels of engagement are offered and we enthusiastically welcome ideas and input from the CTSA community.

  • Propose a scientific question through the CD2H Idea Competition
  • Champion a challenge
  • Contribute data
  • Form a team and participate in an active DREAM Challenge
  • Pilot a DREAM Challenge solution at your hub

CD2H launched our first Idea Competition in Fall 2018 and encourages you to submit DREAM Challenge ideas below: