Today’s healthcare and scientific research ecosystems rely heavily on modern software engineering. From building essential platforms like Electronic Health Records (EHRs) and developing telemedicine apps, to advancing AI-driven diagnostics, patient engagement tools and automated hospital operations, software engineers keep the entire ecosystem running. These software systems are the backbone of healthcare operations and research innovation, yet the engineers behind them are often siloed from the broader research software engineering community. The Department of Biomedical Informatics (DBMI) is working to change that.
Join the DBMI Research Software Engineering Community of Practice to connect with peers, share tools and collaborate on scientific software across CU Anschutz. Click this link and get involved.
After attending the United States Research Software Engineer Association (US-RSE) annual conference for the first time, Dave Bunten, software engineer in DBMI at the University of Colorado Anschutz (CU Anschutz), knew it wasn’t just a professional development opportunity, it was a community DBMI needed to be part of. That’s why DBMI’s Software Engineering Team (SET) joined US-RSE as an organizational member—to connect, collaborate and grow alongside peers across the country.
“It’s all scientific software people,” Bunten said with a laugh. “It’s also people from major research institutions, private labs and big industry groups, who are all exchanging ideas, talking about challenges, and asking, ‘Are you experiencing this too?’ It’s rare to find that.”
Elevating Scientific Software as Real Scholarship
For DBMI, becoming an organizational member of US-RSE is more than a professional affiliation; it’s a signal.
“It gives us 'street cred',” Bunten explained. “It shows that we take scientific software seriously. Too often, the software that powers research, the thing that actually produces the results, becomes an afterthought.”
Published manuscripts often highlight plots, statistics and findings, while the software enabling those analyses receives little attention or citation. Research software engineering aims to change that by advancing standards for citation, reproducibility, documentation, and long-term sustainability.
Explore the innovation happening within SET by checking out our ongoing series spotlighting the DBMI Wall of Software, an interactive online hub showcasing the latest open-source scientific tools developed at DBMI.
This work ties directly to the well-known reproducibility crisis in science. Much of scientific software has difficulty being rerun, validated or understood.
What Is US‑RSE? A National Community for Research Software Engineers
What is US-RSE? The United States Research Software Engineer Association is a national community-driven effort focused on the role of the Research Software Engineers (RSEs). RSEs help improving the quality, recognition, and sustainability of scientific software. The organizational membership offers:
- A highly active Slack community
- Show-and-share opportunities for tools, methods, and solutions
- Peer support for technical challenges
- Access to leaders in the research software field
- Volunteer pathways, conference roles, and leadership experience
“It’s a close-knit network of people who care deeply about advancing scientific software,” Bunten said. “Even if you’re not attending the conference, the Slack alone is an incredible resource.”
Strengthening Research Software Collaboration Across CU Anschutz
Within DBMI and across campus, many individuals work in software-related roles—developers embedded in labs, computational researchers, tool builders—but often operate in isolation.
“They don’t always have someone to talk shop with,” Bunten said. “Sometimes they need a place to ask, ‘My lab wants me to do X, but I think Y is the better approach. What have others seen?’ US-RSE helps break down those silos.”
One major advantage: anyone on campus can join US-RSE at no cost.
“You can sign up for free and immediately get added to the Slack community,” Bunten added. “From there, you can volunteer, connect, or even run for board positions. It’s a great way to grow professional skills you might not get in your day-to-day role.”
How US-RSE Supports Research at DBMI
Modern research depends on modern software and strong research software engineering practices, and SET is working to ensure that software is reproducible, well designed, documented, sustainable and citable.
This includes following emerging best practices championed by leaders in the field, such as Daniel S. Katz, an influential voice within scientific software who also is a member of US-RSE. Bunten described how conversations with Katz directly influenced his own open-source contributions and even shaped his work on the Almanack project.
Building a Campus-Wide Research Software Engineering Community of Practice
Beyond national involvement, Bunten is also developing an internal Research Software Engineering Community of Practice (RSE-CoP) at CU Anschutz, hosted by DBMI. He launched a landing page and sign-up form to bring together software-focused staff supporting CU Anschutz research across departments—even those whose job titles may not explicitly say “engineer.”
“It can be hard to find each other,” he said. “Titles vary widely. But we want a place where anyone doing this kind of work can connect.”
The group will host periodic meetings, share updates, and create space for collaboration across departments.
As DBMI deepens its involvement within US-RSE, the department is helping build a stronger, more connected research software community across CU Anschutz that recognizes software as essential scientific infrastructure. Together, these efforts lay the groundwork for more reproducible, collaborative and impactful research.
Join the DBMI Research Software Engineering Community of Practice to connect with peers, share tools and collaborate on scientific software across CU Anschutz. Click this link and get involved.
