NIHR & BHF Data Science Centre Webinar: Data Linkage for COVID-19 Research

A joint webinar hosted by National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) and British Heart Foundation (BHF) Data Science Centre for NIHR supported COVID-19 studies, to highlight how to utilise and access routinely-collected healthcare data via NHS Digital’s Trusted Research Environment, the UK’s largest linked health data research asset.

This webinar is aimed at NIHR CRN supported non-commercial COVID-19 Portfolio study teams and investigators.

The NIHR funds, enables and delivers world-leading health and social care research that improves people’s health and wellbeing and promotes economic growth. Our mission is to improve the health and wealth of the nation through research.

The NIHR has played a critical role in the fight against COVID-19. We have funded, enabled and delivered ground-breaking research that is already helping to save lives in the UK and around the world. Our research is informing government policy, and providing NHS doctors and nurses with the tools they need to prevent and treat COVID-19. By being embedded in the NHS, we have been able to respond quickly and prioritise research based on science, relevance and feasibility.

The BHF Data Science Centre is a partnership between Health Data Research UK (HDR UK) and the British Heart Foundation (BHF), and sits within HDR UK.

We work with a wide range of partners including patients, public, clinicians, researchers and NHS organisations to help them carry out research using health data into the causes, prevention and treatment of all diseases of the heart and circulation (such heart attacks, stroke and vascular dementia). We do this to ensure new advances in treatment and care for diseases of the heart and circulation get to the patient as quickly as possible.

The CVD-COVID-UK consortium - coordinated by the BHF Data Science Centre - is a collaborative group of more than 180 members across over 40 institutions across the UK.

CVD-COVID-UK was set up with the aim of understanding the relationship between COVID-19 and cardiovascular disease through analyses of de-identified, linked, nationally collated healthcare datasets across the four nations of the UK. The joint collaboration with NIHR is exploring how COVID-19 research beyond cardiovascular disease can be supported

Programme

Welcome and Introductions Prof Nick Lemoine [NIHR Clinical Research Network Medical Director]

The future of UK clinical research delivery and data linkage Prof Martin Gibson [Clinical Director NIHR CRN Greater Manchester]

BHF Data Science Centre Trusted Research Environment Prof Cathie Sudlow [Director of the BHF Data Science Centre]

Research Exemplars Dr Angela Wood [University of Cambridge] , Dr Venexia Walker [University of Bristol] , Dr Johan Thygesen and Dr Chris Tomlinson [UCL]

How to navigate the infrastructure to enable linked health data for researchers Lynn Morrice [Operations Director, BHF Data Science Centre at BHF Data Science Centre]

Question & Answer Panel Chaired by Prof Nick Lemoine, with representatives from the BHF Data Science Centre and NHS Digital England

Closing words Prof Nick Lemoine