INTERLINK

Integrative data management at the Kiel Faculty of Medicine (INTERLINK)

The aim of the project is to establish a uniform data and information flow across different institutions and data management structures. Central research data management is a key topic at the Kiel site and includes major cooperation projects with the P2N biobank network, the DFG sequencing center CCGA, and the medical informatics initiative HiGHmed.

In order to provide researchers with efficient and up-to-date access to research data, a data warehouse for searching and a web portal for submitting applications were established in the first phase of the project, as well as other infrastructure elements, e.g., an external trustee office for data pooling. Currently, core datasets from the PopGen biobank and data from the hospital information system on selected study cohorts have been integrated into the data warehouse to enable an evaluation of the workflow and of the platforms. A new research disclosure and informed consent in medical care allow that medical care data may and can be used broadly for research. The challenge now is to standardize the existing databases and data flows to achieve a broader integration of data sources into the created research infrastructures. In particular, this includes integrating the created research data management structures into the HiGHmed initiative platform.

Consistent information concerning the structure and nature of existing data should enable the application portal to be expanded and the data required for research projects to be recorded in a structured form. This should support data delivery through automated processes, making it faster and more efficient. Especially in medical research, timely access to current research data is crucial. In addition to the implementation of standardized data export and import pipelines for data from the hospital information system and the P2N biobank network, this funding will also develop a central ID management for biospecimens and OMICS data and consolidate the raw data management of OMICS data.