Orchestrating differential data access for translational research: a pilot implementation

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Informatics
• Data Security
• Biobanking Research

Background:

• Translational researchers require IT solutions for diverse data types, including sensitive patient information.
• Managing access to human data involves complex ethical, social, and legal considerations like confidentiality and consent.
• Differential access management is crucial for sensitive data in research settings.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present a pilot system for coordinating access to heterogeneous biomedical data repositories.
• To demonstrate the use of common open source software for managing open and restricted access data.
• To address the need for secure and differential access to sensitive biobanking and biosample research data.

Main Methods:

• Assembled and configured common open source software components.
• Implemented a digital identity federation for access control.
• Developed software to manage resource access entitlements for heterogeneous data repositories.

Main Results:

• The pilot system successfully allows for differential restricted access based on data protection needs.
• Performance, feasibility, and reproducibility of the pilot infrastructure were assessed.
• Common open source software proved sufficient for creating a secure differential access system.

Conclusions:

• Common open source software can create secure systems for differential access to sensitive data.
• The pilot implementation offers practical experience and lessons for researchers with similar data access requirements.
• The system architecture can be extended for more complex data access scenarios.