• Information Technology
• Clinical & Multisite Studies
• Survey Technologies
• Data Management
• Web Technologies
• Health Informatics
• Bioinformatics
• Software Engineering Processes
• Geospatial Analysis, Information Systems, and Modeling
• Modeling & Simulation
• Leading-Edge Technologies
• Data & Network Security

Data Management

Our experts build complex data processing systems and provide innovative solutions to data management problems. We are specialists in designing and building complex decision support systems, including data warehouse and data-mart systems. In addition to our decision support expertise, our staff have extensive experience in dashboard reporting, online analytical processing, statistical analysis, forecasting, and data mining.

Capabilities

• Data warehouse design, including analysis structure, data transformation requirements, data refresh schedule, and user access recommendations
• Data source identification and data collection
• Metadata dictionaries and data quality auditing/validation
• Applications to perform editing and coding of complex survey data
• Transformation of data into analysis-ready format
• Generation of custom views, query tools, and analytic reports
• File delivery with derived and recoded variables, and sanitized or de-identified deliverable files
• Encryption techniques for data in transit, on portable media, on laptops, or stored in a networked environment

Focus Areas

• Longitudinal survey studies
• Bioinformatics
• Health informatics
• Health care privacy and security
• Patient safety data

Projects

• National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, Central Data Repository (NIDDK, 2003–2013). Curates data and develops analytic tools for a central repository that enables access to historical and ongoing clinical trial data, as well as maintaining a registry of both biological and genetic samples from patients involved in the clinical trials.
• Models for Infectious Disease Agent Study (MIDAS) (NIGMS, 2004–2009). Facilitates the development of infectious disease modeling to address a wide range of possible infectious agents and to explore possible responses. The goal of the initiative is to provide policy makers, public health officials, and others within the scientific community with the analytical tools and computer models required to respond quickly and effectively to infectious disease outbreaks.
• National Surveys on Drug Use and Health (SAMHSA, 1999–2011). Coordinates 250,000 household visits and 70,000 completed interviews each year to profile prevalence, patterns, and consequences of alcohol, tobacco, and illegal drug use and abuse in the general U.S. population. The data management needs of the survey require a complex IT infrastructure, including specialized data collection hardware and software, data transmission systems, data processing, analysis and control software, approximately 50 large relational databases, and approximately 2 terabytes of secure disk storage.
• Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS) (CDC, 2004–2009). Tasks include: (1) develop CATI system to be used by 30 state-based data collection sites to ensure technical best practices; (2) develop a Web-based tool (PONDER) to support an online analysis tool and provide sophisticated, real-time analysis capabilities; (3) create a publicly accessible version of the PONDER application (CPONDER) to facilitate analysis; (4) support the PRAMS program staff and the MCH research community with SUDAAN training; (5) support production of an annual surveillance report.
• Privacy and Security Solutions for Interoperable Health Information Exchange (AHRQ-ONC, 2005–2009). Supporting software includes a project portal and Web applications.
• Informatics Support for the NCI Breast and Colon Cancer Family Registries (NCI, 2005–2009). Build out core data systems to support increased volume of genomic-based data, increased levels of automation in data transfer systems, and facilitate compliance with NCI standards for the cancer biomedical informatics grid.