International Symposium on Clinical and Translational Research Informatics

BioGrid Australia and the University of Melbourne’s Health and Biomedical Informatics Centre (HaBIC) are hosting a two-day symposium which will see some of the world’s leading researchers discuss the use of data for health informatics, patient safety, genetic breakthroughs, and clinical and translational research.

The International Symposium on Clinical and Translational Research Informatics will be held from 27-28 March at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research. It has been organised to celebrate the 10th anniversary of BioGrid and the launch of the HaBIC.

The BioGrid collaboration is currently represented across Australia through 28 health services, universities and research institutes. The company’s CEO, Maureen Turner, said BioGrid has worked over the past decade “with researchers across Australia to shed light on many different medical conditions, such as cancer, epilepsy and diabetes, as well as to enable research that is informing and changing the way patients are viewed and treated”.

“Researchers have used the BioGrid-enabled data platform to press the case for extending and increasing funding to the national Bowel Cancer screening program, link patients with rare cancers to clinical trials and research, and to improve the treatment outcomes for patients with epilepsy and diabetes,” she said.

“These achievements are reason to celebrate, and what better way than to invite medical researchers to showcase the importance of data and health informatics now and into the future.”

The HaBIC is a collaborative effort between the University of Melbourne’s Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences; School of Engineering; and Institute for a Broadband-Enabled Society. Centre Director Professor Fernando J Martin-Sanchez said the HaBIC’s establishment “represents a significant development in health informatics for the university, the state of Victoria and Australia”.

“We are delighted to join forces with BioGrid Australia to host this high-level scientific event to officially launch the centre,” Professor Martin-Sanchez said. He added that the event provides an opportunity for biomedical researchers, healthcare professionals and interested members of the public to hear world-class speakers in the fields of precision medicine, health data linkage, translational research, e-health and healthcare information technology.

Some of the international guest speakers include:

• Professor Ted Shortliffe (US), who is a pioneer in the use of artificial intelligence in medicine and clinical decision-making support systems. He also is regarded as a founder of the field of biomedical informatics.
• Professor Vimla Patel (US), one of the most prolific contributors to the field of biomedical informatics and a world-renowned expert in the areas of patient safety and cognitive science.
• Associate Professor Paul Harris (US), whose technical team in Vanderbilt University has responsibility for supporting the Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSA). He also leads the development of the REDCap project, one of the most frequently used applications for clinical research data management.
• Professor Jose Luis Oliveira (Portugal), a specialist in processing human genetic variation data and integrating molecular and clinical information. He has been involved in numerous research projects funded by the European Commission.
• Dr Peter Murray (UK), who has a background in nursing informatics and will present an overview of the International Medical Informatics Association (IMIA), the world body for health and biomedical informatics.

Registration is free and will operate on a first-registered, first-confirmed basis. To secure your place, register via the website, email or by calling +61 3 9342 3167.