Data Science & Informatics

• Study feasibility: We can determine whether a research study is practical and achievable. Regenstrief Institute’s Feasibility Request Form
• Educational materials: We offer Canvas courses on Indiana Network for Patient Care (INPC) datasets and others.
• Grant assistance: We can help with proposals for informatics infrastructure.
• Data quality and standardization: We can make sure that the data is accurate, complete, and consistent so that it can be used reliably. This involves organizing the data in a standard format so it’s easier to analyze and compare.
• Software solutions: We can help develop a registry to help collect, store, and organize information about people or activities, and data analysis tools so researchers can analyze and interpret the data to find useful patterns or insights.
• Cohort discovery: We can help find a specific group of people within a larger database who share common characteristics, such as a health condition or demographic, to use for research or clinical studies. The tools available for this service include ACT Network and OHDSI Atlas.
• Identifying collaborators: We can provide lists of teams and research study topics at a number of institutions and health systems.
• Guidance and consultations: We can give you tailored advice on your information management and analysis needs.

Researchers can access a number of data sets through the Indiana CTSI and its partners. The Data Services team can help you navigate and access these sources. Sources may include:

• Comprehensive genomics from the All of Us Research Program at the National Institutes of Health
• Indiana Patient Care Network (INPC)
• Observational Medical Outcome Partnership (OMOP) research database
• Direct data extraction from electronic health records (IU Health Cerner and Eskenazi Health Epic) and INPC
• OMOP research database into REDCap using Clinical Data Interoperability Services (CDIS)
• Multiple sources through Regenstrief Data Services

The IU Research Data Commons has more information on these sources (and others) in its FAQ on Acquiring Data.

Our team provides guidance on the management of genomic data on Indiana University High Performance Computing infrastructure in collaboration with University Information Technology Services. We help with:

• Genomic data ingestion
• Quality assurance
• Metadata collection
• Applications for genomic data access

• Staying in compliance with policies, procedures, and other rules governing data management can be overwhelming. The Data Science team can walk you through what you need to know.
• Check the Data & Informatics FAQ for more information about specific policies, as well as the training you need for responsible data practices in research.
• Engaging storage and computing systems
• The Research Data Commons has information about data storage options for researchers at IU.  Additionally, we can help researchers at Notre Dame and Purdue determine which resources are available to them.

We offer guidance on these topics:

• Leveraging electronic health data, social media, All IN for Health, and more to increase your enrollment. 
• Using the Registry Hub and integrating data from these registries:
  • Multiple MyelomaOREIN (Pan-Cancer)
  • Pediatric Solid Tumor
  • Gestational Diabetes Mellitus
  • Cirrhosis Registry
  • Indiana Patient Care Network (INPC) and Observational Medical Outcome Partnership (OMOP)
  • Multi-state EHR-based Network for Disease Surveillance (MENDS)
  • Musculoskeletal Registry
  • Wound Care Registry
• Using REDCap and OnCore/Advarra systems for clinical research. View the Data Science & Informatics FAQ for details.

For more information, learn about the recruitment services available through the Indiana CTSI and the Office of Clinical Research for Indiana.