Following a call for funding earlier this year, Health Data Research UK (HDR UK) is delighted to announce that Daniel Prieto-Alhambra, Professor of Pharmaco- and Device Epidemiology, and Section Head, Health Data Sciences, at the Botnar Institute, will lead a new Real-World Evidence (RWE) Network Coordination Centre for the UK.
The aim of the pilot Network is to demonstrate the potential of the Observational Medical Outcomes Partnership (OMOP) Common Data Model (CDM) as an enabler of efficient cross-nation federated research studies, utilising data from multiple NHS sources. The ambition is to include up to seven hospital and primary care data partners from different parts of the UK through a data partner funding call to be announced shortly.
Daniel is an epidemiologist and academic clinician scientist using routinely collected (real world) health data to generate reliable evidence for improved patient care. He leads the UK Node of the Observational Health Data Sciences and Informatics programme (OHDSI) and is Deputy Director for the European Medicines Agency's Data Analysis and Real-World Interrogation Network (DARWIN EU) Coordination Centre.
The wider Network team includes work package leads Edward Burn, Senior Researcher in Epidemiology and Health Economics and Marti Catala-Sabate, Postdoctoral Medical Data Scientist both at NDORMS who bring their extensive experience in software development for the OMOP CDM and of leading RWE studies across several European projects, including the European Health Data & Evidence Network (EHDEN), DARWIN-EU, and OPTIMA. Daniel, Edward, and Marti are working alongside HDR UK colleagues, led by Paola Quattroni (Head of Strategy and Engagement for UK Health Data Research Alliance) to deliver the Real-World Evidence Network Co-ordination Centre.
Daniel Prieto-Alhambra said: 'We are delighted to see the interest in federated analytics growing nationally. This support from HDR UK will set the basis for what we hope will be a key national infrastructure for faster, reproducible, and reliable health data sciences in the UK.'
Edward Burn added: 'Establishing this pilot network of data sources is an exciting opportunity to bring together different parties with data mapped to the OMOP common data model in the UK. During the project we are planning to conduct several studies that will help test the network's readiness for conducting network research, while also delivering impactful results in themselves.'
Paola Quattroni said: 'We are very excited to work with Dani, Ed and Marti on this project to drive forward the use of real-world evidence in the UK. Dani and his team's track record in delivering studies using RWE through the EHDEN and DARWIN-EU projects puts them in a strong position to establish a sustainable network in the UK.'