Clinicum: Common support structures for clinical and translational research within KI and the Stockholm Region
The project is a collaboration between KI and the Stockholm Region's various actors in health and medical care. The goal is to create an organized support for researchers who need access to clinical data and/or various types of support within data management and methodology. The project will be transferred into an organization at the beginning of 2023.
Clinicum is one of the projects included in the Information Management Programme at KI, which in turn is part of KI's university-wide operational plan of Strategy 2030.
Activities
Methodological support pilot
During the fall of 2022, the project group is conducting a pilot for the planned methodological support aimed at clinical and translational research. The purpose of the pilot is to test the model for delivering support and to evaluate processes. Contact clinium@ki.se with any questions.
Needs inventory
Report, January 2022: Biostatistics, bioinformatics and other methodological support in clinical research projects. Inventory of needs and existing resources as well as a model for structured support via Clinicum.
Kick-off Clinicum
February 16, 2022, the project held a kick-off for almost 400 clinical researchers and analysts who handle health data in various ways where Anders Gustafsson, Annika Tibell and Clinicum's project group were some of the speakers. Representatives of methodological expertise and support functions for clinical research from KI and the Region also participated. See the agenda.
Seminars in methodology
Clinicum arranges with, among others, node Huddinge; Center for Biostatistics and Bioinformatics (CBB), method seminars in biostatistics, bioinformatics and data management.
The seminars are aimed at all researchers and analysts who work with health data and clinical data in some way, either at KI or within the Region.
- 2022-03-22: Clinicum seminar: An introduction to relative survival and other measures useful in population based cancer patient survival studies.
- 2022-04-26: Clinicum seminar: AI-based computational pathology: enabling scalable and comprehensive phenotyping for patient stratification in cancer precision medicine.
- 2022-05-17: Clinicum seminar; A guide to the national health registers with respect to content and quality.
2021:
Enabling collaboration within the region
Background:
Research develops by increased opportunities to take part in clinical data. This, however, also means increased demands on knowledge of, for example, secure data management, and competence in study design, data processing, biostatistics and bioinformatics. Today, large amounts of data are also generated via so-called data-driven research, and many research projects involve analyzes of both disease mechanisms and health data, so-called translational research.
For an individual researcher or research group it may be impossible to maintain the technical and personnel infrastructure needed to meet these requirements. An investment in research support is therefore needed to enable continued good and broad research within KI and the Stockholm Region. Clinicum as an idea has existed for several years and has now been developed into a project within the Information Management program at KI as a part of KI’s Strategy 2030.
The Clinicum project - purpose and goal
The purpose of the project is to develop the organization Clinicum together with the major care providers in the region. This involves the development of structures for collaboration and for access to support in epidemiology, biostatistics, bioinformatics and other research methodologies, as well as the development of processes for accessing health data from the region. The target group for Clinicum is the researchers and functions that use health and medical care data in research at KI and/or within the Stockholm Region.
The project's overall goal is to create conditions for high-quality research and efficient use of health data at KI and in the Stockholm Region.
Clinicum will make this possible by:
- provide support for clinical and translational research regarding study design, biostatistics, bioinformatics and more
- coordinate support processes, services and IT environments to facilitate the management of health data
- create structures and surfaces for close collaboration and networking between disciplines and activities.
Guiding principles:
- The researcher's needs are the starting point for every effort made within Clinicum.
- We shall share and coordinate resources and strengths within KI and the Stockholm Region.
The organization Clinicum - a model
The idea is that Clinicum will consist of a central function and several nodes. The nodes include the region's various actors in health care.
The central function shall enable coordination and sharing between the nodes, as well as drive common issues. The central function will be located at KI in close collaboration with a steering group consisting of representatives from both KI and the Stockholm Region and led by Vice President Anders Gustafsson (Chairman). The task of the steering group is to decide on Clinicum's assignments within the framework of the existing budget, guide the Project Group and to work together with the Project Group to achieve the overall purpose of Clinicum.
The nodes form a contact area for the local clinics and researchers and create areas for collaborations and network meetings. They work together with the central function to clarify their own needs and to offer competence and infrastructure to other nodes in areas where they themselves are at the forefront.
The nodes that are currently included in the project are; Södersjukhuset, Karolinska University Hospital Huddinge (K Huddinge), Karolinska University Hospital Solna (K Solna), St Erik Eye Hospital (St Eriks sjukhus), Danderyds Hospital (Danderyds sjukhus), St Göran Hospital (St Görans sjukhus) and Health Care Services Stockholm County (SLSO).
The nodes' steering group representatives are appointed by the respective Research, development and education committee.
Financing
The Clinicum project (2021-2022) is funded by the Information Management Program at KI. The project group's assignment includes developing a long-term financing model for the organization Clinicum.
The project group 2021-2022
The project group's task is to lead the project Clinicum's work 2021-2022 and to produce a basis for enabling the establishment of the organization Clinicum according to the plan.
Contact the project group: clinicum@ki.se