I started at the Clinical Informatics Research Unit in 2015 after many conversations with Professor James Batchelor, CIRU Director, who back in 2014 was advising me on the informatics challenges to support the 100,000 Genome project - University Hospital Southampton (UHS) were one of the Genomic Medicine Centres. I remember having a cup of coffee with him and in passing he said he was looking for a new Head of Operations and Delivery to support the rollout of EDGE nationally and internationally. Moving from the Hospital to the University was an important decision for me, and over the 7 years I have been in the CIRU, it’s been a challenging but very exciting role, working with a dynamic and skilled team and the growing EDGE community. I have seen the EDGE Programme go from strength to strength and am very excited for the future of EDGE. Our other CIRU services have developed over the years as well, adding value and opening up exciting times for the Unit as a whole.
We have a big year ahead with the launch of EDGE 3 being our primary focus and are thrilled that the rollout of the LIVE new version has begun with sites in South Africa. The EDGE team are now hard at work preparing things for further EDGE 3 LIVE launches to the rest of our subscribers globally and I know there is much excitement around the subject of EDGE 3. This year will also see changes to the UK’s Clinical Research Networks and the EDGE team will be on hand to support these changes.
This year we also plan to continue strengthening our team by improving and creating roles across the Unit to ensure we can provide the best service to our clients and improve our offerings to the research and healthcare world. This has already included additional job roles for the EDGE Knowledge team including three new Client Manager posts. The new post holders will be working closely with our CORE team who specialize in eCRF’s and electronic forms for research. CORE are also involved with high profile studies that have been gaining a lot of media attention lately and have expansion plans in place for this year to help opportunities grow further.
The AXIS (Access Extract Integrate Safe Data) team has significantly grown with the inclusion of two new Analysts, expanding their capabilities and skill sets. AXIS are working on and managing 20+ projects from national collaborative projects such as Health Informatics Collaboratives to local ground-breaking research initiatives. Through the delivery of these projects they have formalised data extraction pipelines, workflow processes, and created tools to identify more efficient methods of working. AXIS are also playing a lead role in the Wessex Secure Data Environment pilot and are also in the process of hiring another two analysts over the coming months to continue their trajectory.
There are busy times ahead for other departments within the Unit who are more research focused, including the IBRN (International Blast Injury Research Network). Following two successful funding applications, the IBRN have two workshops set for 2023 which focus on the health consequences and blast engineering aspects of the 2020 Beirut Blast and mass-casualty explosive events. The IBRN is establishing a World Universities Network dedicated to urban blast research, alongside continuing projects investigating injuries and health system responses following the 2020 Beirut Blast. Early this year, the IBRN will be re-visiting its scope and vision to reflect current and emerging priorities to drive future research and activities of the Network. The IBRN continues to support the activity and research of its members through regular meetings and online seminars.
Resident media savvy Dr Michael Head, Senior Research Fellow and the Lead for RESIN (Research Investments in Global Health), is currently looking at the impact of the pandemic upon funding trends for cancer research. Michael has also been involved in research for COVID-19 and most recently the War in Ukraine, alongside colleague Dr Ken Brackstone. The pair are also leading on several projects in Ghana across 2023, including the priority areas of climate change and health. They will be working with their policy and advocacy networks, including the Ministry of Health, WHO, UNICEF, and the British High Commission. Michael is also working with the Social Impact Lab to take the first cohort of UoS students to Ghana, as part of the new Spark Ghana programme.
CIRU will be welcoming further Digital Health Fellows from Sri Lanka and International Research Fellows from other areas of the world, with whom we will be working in close collaboration. I can see further connections taking place across the globe as our Director James continues to spread the ‘CIRU’ word to whomever he meets throughout his busy work schedule.
It has certainly been a year of highlighting the Power of Data and, more importantly, the aspect of sharing data knowledge and expertise.
Looking back to that cup of coffee with James in 2014, I realise what a fortuitous conversation that was. I have had the pleasure of seeing our dynamic and skilled staff in the Unit develop and flourish supporting the clinical research community, a community which through the COVID-19 pandemic showed how the phrase “Strength through Collaboration” has never been more apt.
Looking forward, I see a very exciting year ahead for us here at CIRU and I look forward to the community joining us on the journey ahead.
