D2K Members

Professor Madeleine Murtagh, Dr Joel Minion, 

Project

EnMESHD (EvaluatioN of tools and MEthods for SHaring Data) formally evaluates the application and utility of new harmonization and standardization tools developed and rolled out under the BioSHaRE-EU project. EnMESHD is part of the BioSHaRE Social Core examination of the social and epistemic implications of biobank standardisation and harmonisation.

In order to obtain the very large sample sizes needed to investigate current questions in multifactorial diseases, notably on gene-environment interactions development of harmonization and standardization tools is necessary. Underpinning the generation of biomedical knowledge from biological, health, social and other data collections are translational tools and methods which provide the mechanisms and infrastructure for knowledge generation.

The BioSHaRE project builds upon tools and methods available to achieve solutions for researchers to use pooled data from different cohort and biobank studies; that is, to develop and implement key translational tools and methods. BioSHaRE has developed such tools, notably DataSHaPER, DataSHIELD, Mica and Opal. Existing studies have evaluated the development and early implementation of these tools. The ethnography of DataSHIELD and IARC evaluation of Mica and Opal .

EnMESHD assesses the implementation and applicability of the tools in BioSHaRE demonstration projects:

• Healthy Obese Project and
• Environmental Determinants of Health Project

Key Publications

Murtagh, M.J., Demir, I., Harris, J.R. & Burton, P.R. (2011). Realizing the promise of population biobanks: a new model for translation". Human Genetics, vol 130., pp. 333-345