July is the beginning of our new academic and
fiscal year. As such, it is also the start of some new initiatives, even
if they have been ‘in the works’ for a while. From last year's operating plan, we committed to ‘build the infrastructure for data
science, ensuring responsible, compliant data use that earns the public trust.’ I am pleased to announce our action on this commitment with the creation
of the MedStar Health Research Institute Center for Biostatistics,
Informatics and Data Science (CBIDS).
The center is designed to be a single location for research
data needs across MedStar Health. What was formerly known as the Department of
Biostatistics & Biomedical Informatics is now
part of this new center as well as data science and informatics members from
National Center
for Human Factors in Healthcare. CBIDS has four core
areas of expertise:
1.
Biostatistics
2.
Clinical Informatics
3.
Data Science and Machine Learning
4.
Research Application Development
Each of these core areas is designed to both lead
innovative research while also provide data services to the MHRI community and
beyond.
The center will be co-directed by Drs. Aaron (Zach)Hettinger and Nawar Shara. Both Nawar and Zach have
been part of the MHRI community for many years and provide complimentary
research expertise as a PhD and MD partnership;
an example of the partnerships that we seek to foster across our academic
health system.
The creation of CBIDS comes at a critical time when the
role of clinical data in research has dramatically increased regarding the need
to understand the impact of the COVID pandemic as well as leverage data for
existing research endeavors. By serving as a “one-stop shop” for research data
needs, CBIDS will seek to foster data access, analysis, discovery and improved
clinical outcomes in a safe, efficient and secure manner.
More information will be distributed about new services and
opportunities as the center comes up to speed. As a MedStar investigator, you can request the
services of CBIDS by using the following link: https://researchdata.medstar.net/redcap/surveys/?s=JUh345&opt_id=oeu1622214029151r0.03211895701473022