At the beginning of April, a new research project was launched at the Technical University of Dresden: "NUM^OHDSI Connect". The project is primarily based on the NUM infrastructures of the NUM Study Network (NUM SN) and the Data Integration Centres (NUM-DIZ) as well as the NUM4Rare research project. The project's operational contacts are Katja Hoffmann and Michele Zoch.
The aim is to significantly expand cooperation between the German Network of University Medicine (NUM) and "Observational Health Data Sciences and Informatics (OHDSI)", the international open science community in the field of health data.
The focus is on the question of how medical data from different countries can be better combined and utilised. The project is initially focussing on rare diseases and infectious diseases, for which there is often little data available per country. Common standards will make it easier to compare and analyse this data in future.
A central component is an internationally established data model that helps to structure different health data in a standardised way. This will enable researchers worldwide to conduct large studies more quickly and reliably, for example in crisis situations such as pandemics.
A variety of co-creative exchange formats are planned with partners from Europe and North America that deliberately go beyond traditional workshops. These formats are not only intended to facilitate the exchange of expertise, but above all to build sustainable working relationships, jointly develop solutions and actively involve other stakeholders from the NUM.
Although the project is funded independently of the BMFTR, it utilises existing structures of the Network of University Medicine. The end result should not only be a strong international network, but also better connectivity between German data spaces and global research initiatives such as the Open Science Community OHDSI, the Data Analysis and Real World Interrogation Network (DARWIN EU) and the European Health Data Space (EHDS).
You can find more information on the TU Dresden website: to the project description