FAQs

Q. How does Farr London relate to translational research, big data research and eHealth research?

A. A key goal at Farr London is to synergise the work across these three inter-related areas. Some investigators lead 'translational research’ (discover new disease mechanisms, drug targets, diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers, trial new interventions, assess the quality and outcomes of care, challenge approaches to public health) which exploits features of linked electronic health records (scale, phenotypic resolution, efficiency). Some investigators come from a 'big data' tradition, carrying out research which allows the data to ‘speak for themselves,’ and may not have a background in health. Some investigators are focussed on eHealth research which potentially transforms the nature and delivery of healthcare, and the relation between a citizen and their health.

Each of these research approaches seeks to develop healthcare which is appropriately personalised, and makes more profound use of data, information and knowledge to make decisions at the level of the individual citizen and healthcare organisations.

Q. What makes Farr London special?

A. Farr London investigators lead several major recent initiatives which include the Genomics England (Caulfield), the Administrative Data Research Centre- England (Deputy Director Gilbert), the NIHR Health Informatics Collaboration (Williams), the MRC eMEDLAB medical bioinformatics project (Lomas, Coveney) and the UCL Partners Informatics Board (Chair Morris). This rapid recent expansion of critical mass in the area of health informatics has few if any parallels in the UK.

Q. How does Farr London work with other Farr UK nodes?

A. We work closely with the Farr nodes in Scotland, Manchester and Wales, and other centres in the UK Health Informatics Research Network. We encourage collaboration which involves two or more centres.

Q. Who are the strategic partners at Farr London?

A. Farr London was founded as a partnership between higher education institutions (UCL, LSHTM, QMUL), the UCL Partners Academic Health Sciences Centre and Network, including its 5 Biomedical Research Centres and Units and Public Health England. At UCL Investigators are drawn from across Faculties and Schools. Strategic partners include the Francis Crick Institute, the Clinical Practice Research Datalink and the Health and Social Care Information Centre.

Q. What the Farr London is, and what it is not?

A. We have been inundated with requests for collaboration and it is important to clarify what is, and what is not, in the remit of the Farr. Farr London is centrally about doing cutting edge research: this may be methodological or substantive but must fit the mission. It is not a service organisation, or a consultancy organisation, it is not there to do NHS informatics, nor is it about passive working with external researchers.

In nearly all cases research collaborations with Farr London will require new funding to come to the Institute. It is a research institute barely a year old which needs to establish a sustainable model for growth. The initial investments in the Farr have been largely infrastructural. Scientific discussions are encouraged at an early stage before grant deadlines.

Q. What is the disciplinary background of researchers at Farr London?

A. A high degree of inter-disciplinarity is important to meet the rapidly changing challenges in the field: each discipline brings its own tools, methods (and culture!) –it’s the mix that matters. Disciplines include in alphabetical order: bioinformatics, computer science, engineering, epidemiology, health informatics, health professionals (general practice, hospital medicine, surgery, professions allied to medicine), genomics, social sciences, statistics. The MSc and PhD subject of most researchers in the Farr is not health informatics….but that relates to the next question.

Q. What is the Farr Academy doing to build research capacity?

A. At early, mid and late career stages Farr London is working to develop researchers. The Farr already has a highly successful MSc in health informatics (led by Dr Paul Taylor) which there are plans to develop a new MSc in data science, as well as a range of short courses.

Q. What kind of resources are available at Farr London?

A. People + data + tools + compute + building

Q. Who is based in the Farr London building?

A. 222 Euston Road is the building dedicated to Farr London and offers 147 work stations over 6 floors with space for teaching 50 students. Initial occupancy is based on groups who sign up to the vision and bringing in new research grants and teaching in the Academy. Zoning is based on career stage (with PhD students, post-doctoral researchers, and academic staff brought together) rather than on individual research groups to foster working between groups. We want to stimulate a culture of a ‘research hotel’ where individuals or groups are located at 222 so long as it fulfils the vision. Important research groups in Farr London are physically based at other locations.

Q. Are CALIBER data available to researchers?

A. Yes. CALIBER operates a collaboration-driven data sharing model. Please get in touch to discuss your project. Researchers are asked to prepare a one-page document outlining their proposed study (collaborators, rationale, objectives, methods, and expected outputs) and the available resources.

What approvals are required?

All studies making use of CALIBER data must obtain a series of approvals from the relevant regulatory and advisory bodies of the constituent datasets:

• Independent Scientific Advisory Commitee (ISAC): non-statutory expert advisory body which oversees access to Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD) data for research purposes. The application form and guidance on completing the research protocol can be found here.

• MINAP Academic Group (MAG): responsible for ensuring safe access to MINAP data for research purposes - information on the process and the application form can be found here.

• Analytical protocol - researchers are required to create an analytical protocol for their study and register it prior to receipt of data on ClinicalTrials.gov. Existing registered protocols can be used for guidance.

• Data Sharing agreement - researchers working with CALIBER data must sign a data sharing agreement.

What are the costs?

Access to CALIBER data is free. Some costs might apply to cover data management support (cohort definition, data extraction) and the use of eInfrastructure such as the Data Portal and the safe haven environment.