Accelerating Disease Research with Trusted Research Environments

13 August 2024

Trusted Research Environments are highly secure and controlled computing environments that enable the full potential of health and biomedical data to be realized. Also known as “Data Safe Havens” or “Secure Data Environments”, trusted research environments allow approved researchers from authorized organizations a safe way to access, store, and analyze sensitive data remotely. Across health and research sectors, trusted research environments are becoming increasingly prevalent as a means to achieve both data accessibility and security. In this blog we explore the ways in which these environments are used by health non profit organizations to transform health and disease research, and ultimately patient health outcomes.

Providing secure platforms for data access and analysis

The foundation of any effective disease research initiative is the security of the data involved. Trusted Research Environments can address some of the concerns around data security and patient privacy - with multi-layered security controls and robust monitoring and auditing capabilities. Importantly, Trusted Research Environments represent a shift in data access from a ‘lending library’ to a ‘reading library’ approach. In the Trusted Research Environment model, approved researchers can use the data within the library, but this information never leaves the library. 

Further, Trusted Research Environments provide the functionality and infrastructure to support the research on sensitive health data at scale. They are solving the problem of authorised data sharing by enabling research progress without sacrificing data security -  ensuring data are handled in a secure and responsible manner. Lifebit's platform provides a secure environment, meeting global compliance requirements, ensuring that all research data is protected by the highest standards of data security and privacy.

Integrating data for comprehensive research

Disease research requires the integration of diverse data sources. Trusted research environments facilitate seamless data integration, enabling researchers to consolidate and analyze data from various origins. This integration is essential for gaining a holistic view of disease mechanisms and potential treatments. Lifebit's platform supports comprehensive data integration, allowing researchers to combine patient data, genomic data, and other biomedical datasets seamlessly.

Enhancing data management

Managing large volumes of research data can be challenging. Trusted research environments offer robust data management systems that organize and streamline access to research data. These systems enable researchers to efficiently manage and retrieve data, enhancing the overall productivity of disease research projects. Lifebit's Data Catalog module provides advanced data management capabilities, ensuring that all data is easily accessible and well-organized.

Harmonizing data for efficient analysis

Data harmonization is crucial for ensuring that data from different sources is standardized and compatible for analysis. Lifebit's Data Factory offers advanced data harmonization capabilities, making it easier for researchers to integrate and analyze diverse datasets.

Achieving high standards of data privacy

Maintaining data privacy and compliance with regulatory standards is essential in disease research. Trusted research environments ensure that all data handling processes adhere to strict privacy and compliance standards, protecting sensitive information and maintaining trust. Lifebit's platform is designed to meet the highest standards of data privacy and compliance, ensuring that all research activities are conducted responsibly and ethically.

Use case and application

An initiative in Canada, the Canadian Partnership for Tomorrow’s Health (CanPath), leverages a trusted research environment to securely integrate and analyze extensive health and biomedical data from over 330,000 participants across the country. This secure platform enables researchers to conduct comprehensive population health studies, uncovering insights into disease prevention and health outcomes. By utilizing advanced data harmonization and robust data management tools, CanPath accelerates the discovery of disease biomarkers and potential therapeutic targets, demonstrating the transformative power of trusted research environments in large-scale health research projects.

General applications and benefits

Many health non-profit research organizations have successfully utilized trusted research environments to enhance their disease research initiatives, and have enabled the following: 

• Improved research outcomes through better data integration, management, and analysis capabilities. These environments enable researchers to gain deeper insights into disease mechanisms and potential treatments, leading to more effective research outcomes

• Accelerated research timelines through more efficient data management and analysis tools, used by researchers to quickly access and analyze data, reducing the time required to reach significant findings and conclusions.

• Enhanced data security and privacy, which build the trust of stakeholders and research participants, knowing that their data is handled with the utmost care and security

• Streamlined data collaboration as researchers can more easily share and access data, enhancing collaboration and fostering more comprehensive research efforts.

Conclusion

Trusted research environments are transforming the landscape of disease research for health non-profit organizations. By providing secure, integrated, and efficient data management solutions, these environments enable researchers to conduct comprehensive and reliable disease studies. Lifebit's Platform offers the tools and support needed to enhance disease research processes, ensuring data security, integration, and harmonization.

By utilizing Lifebit's trusted research environment, health non-profit research organizations can accelerate their disease research efforts, leading to faster and more accurate research outcomes. 

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