Biobanking informatics infrastructure to support clinical and translational research

Area of Science:

• Clinical and Translational Research
• Health Informatics
• Biomedical Data Integration

Background:

• High-value clinical and translational research requires robust infrastructure.
• The University of Utah Health Sciences (UUHSC) and Intermountain Healthcare (IH) aim to advance research capabilities.
• Integrating biospecimens and electronic health records (EHR) is crucial for next-generation research.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and demonstrate an infrastructure linking biospecimens and EHR for research.
• To support clinical and translational research initiatives.
• To improve understanding of health and disease and enhance healthcare value.

Main Methods:

• Phase I of the Utah BioHealth Initiative (UBI) established legal, regulatory, and IT infrastructure.
• Utilized the Federated Utah Research and Translational Health electronic Repository (FURTHeR).
• Combined EHR and biospecimen data from a study involving both UUHSC and IH.

Main Results:

• Successfully demonstrated the robustness of the integrated infrastructure.
• Enabled the linkage of biospecimen and EHR data for research purposes.
• Validated the IT infrastructure's capability to support multi-institutional research.

Conclusions:

• The Utah Biohealth Initiative provides a vital infrastructure for advanced clinical and translational research.
• The FURTHeR repository effectively integrates diverse health data.
• This initiative enhances the potential for improved health outcomes and understanding of diseases.