Building and Innovating Digital Health Technology and Analytics
Driving transformative research in rheumatologic, musculoskeletal, and skin diseases by harnessing digital health, informatics, and advanced analytics to revolutionize care and improve patient outcomes.
Funded by the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, the center aims to enhance and improve outcomes for patients with rheumatologic, musculoskeletal, and skin diseases through innovative data-driven approaches.
The BIGDATA Center uses a Tri-Core Integrated Research Process—comprising the Administrative, Methods and Health Informatics (MHI) Core, and Dissemination, Implementation, and Community Engagement (DICE) Core—to receive, review, and resource project needs.
Methods and Health Informatics (MHI) Core
MHI Core Director: Tapan Mehta, Ph.D., Vice Chair of Research, Department of Family and Community Medicine
The MHI Core offers expertise in study design, biostatistics, informatics, and data management, with a focus on facilitating cutting-edge rheumatic and musculoskeletal disease research. It provides tools for electronic data capture, data engineering, and machine learning applications, supporting research that integrates diverse data sources, such as patient-reported outcomes and clinical trial data. The MHI Core works closely with the DICE Core to ensure research incorporates community engagement strategies and the patient voice in all aspects of clinical research. It also aids in designing and executing pragmatic and decentralized trials, offering advanced capabilities in AI, NLP, and wearable device data collection.