2015 APHA Annual Meeting & Expo

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334233
Federal Interagency Traumatic Brain Injury Research (FITBIR) bioinformatics platform for the advancement of collaborative traumatic brain injury research and analysis


Tuesday, November 3, 2015

Mary Ivory, MPH, Sapient Government Services, Sapient Government Services, Arlington, VA
Matthew McAuliffe, PhD, Center for Information Technology, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD
Patrick Bellgowan, Neuroscience Center, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, Bethesda, MD
Alison Garcia, BSE, Sapient Government Services, Arlington, VA
Eleanore Moye, Sapient Government Services, Sapient Government Services, Arlington, VA
Barry Landin, BS, Sapient Government Services, Arlington, VA
Tsega Gebremichael, Sapient Government Services, Sapient Government Services, Arlington, VA
Anthony Fontana, Sapient Government Services, Arlington, VA
Evan McCreedy, Center for Information Technology, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD
Debra Bergstrom, Neuroscience Center, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, Bethesda, MD
Diana Cummings, Neuroscience Center, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, Bethesda, MD
Olga Vovk, SRA International, Bioinformatics Support and Solutions, Rockville, MD
background: According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) leads to 52,000 deaths and 275,000 hospitalizations in the United States each year.  Given the substantial impact of TBI, it’s crucial to establish research standards to promote collaboration and further development of treatment and prevention techniques.   The Federal Interagency Traumatic Brian Injury Research (FITBIR) informatics system is a dynamic platform established in a joint venture with the U.S Department of Defense (DOD) and the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) to accelerate TBI research.

objective/purpose: Innovation in data informatics requires effective data sharing across stakeholders.  Biomedical Research Informatics Computing System (BRICS) is the underlying software platform for FITBIR.  This pioneering set of six, user-friendly software modules support research collaboration by aiding and supporting users to define, contribute, and access data. These include the Data Dictionary, Global Unique Identifier (GUID), Data Repository, Protocol and Form Research Management System (ProFoRMS), Query Tool, Medical Image Processing Analysis and Visualization (MIPAV), and Account Management.  The BRICS platform is organized to assure the consistent acquisition of data. 

methods: The FITBIR informatics system utilizes data definitions from NINDS Common Data Elements (CDE) project to build, in an alliance with research teams, a comprehensive data dictionary for TBI research.  CDEs promote standards within TBI research and increase the capability of data re-aggregation and meta-analysis to advance knowledge.

results:  Currently, there are 42 studies participating in the FITBIR system.  4434 subjects’ data is entered into the system, with a total of 108,367 records.  8,955 of these are imaging data.   

discussion: This project is expected to be funded through 2020.  The BRICS platform was created un-branded without association to any particular disease with a vision of developing a system that shares data among research communities and promotes querying data across multiple disease categories.

Learning Areas:

Chronic disease management and prevention
Communication and informatics

Learning Objectives:
Explain the capabilities of the BRICS informatics system. Identify possible research applications for the FITBIR system. Describe the benefits of a standardized data dictionary for the advancement of Traumatic Brain Injury research.

Keyword(s): Information Technology, Traumatic Brain Injury

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I work on operations staff for the FITBIR project. This role involves user support as well as software testing.
Any relevant financial relationships? Yes

Name of Organization Clinical/Research Area Type of relationship
Sapient Operations for FITBIR Employment (includes retainer)

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

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