PDN has released a technical ‘starter kit’ to support the rapid development of national, regional and community-led portals, also referred to as Pathogen Portal Nodes (PPN). This simple and flexible implementation software includes all essential features for a basic, functional web portal, allowing new nodes to be launched with minimal technical overhead—users only need to add their own content.
Reducing barriers to participation
A key component of PDN is the deployment of community-led Pathogen Portal Nodes (PPN), which provide tailored, regional information, and tools for the FAIR management, analysis and sharing of pathogen data. These will facilitate effective surveillance and response. The first ones to be awarded by the project already span several continents. To facilitate their deployment, a user-friendly implementation software has now been released.
Accompanying documentation and tutorial videos further streamline the process, while direct support is available to new users establishing a node.
“Setting up a PPN has historically required significant technical expertise and time investment. The new technical ‘starter kit’ addresses these challenges by offering a standardised, easy-to-use foundation.”
Liane Hughes
Project Leader
SciLifeLab Data Centre (Sweden)
Developed through community collaboration
This achievement was made possible through collaboration across existing PDN nodes in Sweden, Switzerland, and Norway. Their contributions of code, operational insights, and shared experience enabled fast development of a solution that reflects real-world needs. The Swedish Pathogens Portal, in particular, serves as a live example of this framework in action.
Supporting PDN’s global vision
The minimal PPN code directly contributes to PDN’s objectives by:
- Fostering data discovery and global integration through easily deployable, interoperable local and regional nodes
- Enabling timely data sharing to support effective surveillance and outbreak response
- Strengthening the community of practice, encouraging trust and collaboration across borders
Next steps and future development
A roadmap is currently being developed in collaboration with the community of practice and will be published by the end of June. This will guide how the code evolves to include new features and respond to user needs—making node creation even more accessible.
Call to action
We invite countries and institutions interested in joining PDN to establish their own portal nodes using the shared code.
Workstreams involved: WS1 Pathogens Portals