Northern New England Clinical and Translational Research Network: Enhancing NNE-CTR data science capacity to support clinical informatics applications in cancer control research.

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PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT This application is submitted in response to the Notice of Special Interest (NOSI) identified as NOT-OD-23-123 (“Administrative Supplements to Enhance Institutional Data Science Capacity”). The Northern New England Clinical and Translational Research (NNE-CTR) Network (U54GM115516) at the University of Vermont (UVM), MaineHealth, and the University of Southern Maine is an IDeA Clinical & Translational Research Network supporting improvements in health for northern New England inhabitants, with a particular focus on underserved rural and immigrant populations. We propose to expand the data science capacity of the NNE- CTR’s Biostatistics, Epidemiology, and Research Design Core to support complex investigator-led cancer database research projects, including the Vermont Breast Cancer Surveillance System (VBCSS). The VBCSS is a UVM-based research program that addresses a wide spectrum of questions in rural breast cancer control, including prevention, detection, survivorship, and health equity, through a breast imaging data registry that is a partnership between UVM, academic and community-based radiology practices, and the Vermont Department of Health. Specific objectives of this supplement are 1) To increase institutional expertise in clinical informatics, data management, and data sharing in the NNE-CTR at the University of Vermont through new staff recruitment and training of existing staff; 2) To modernize and enhance the existing VBCSS database application to collect and integrate data from radiology practices at rural community hospitals, link to the Vermont statewide all-payers claim database, and facilitate continued participation in the national Breast Cancer Surveillance Consortium; 3) To facilitate collaborative research leveraging investigator-led cancer data registries and NNE-CTR data resources at UVM and MaineHealth. Completion of these Aims will significantly expand the data science capacity of the University of Vermont and expand the NNE-CTR’s ability to provide clinical informatics, data management, and data sharing support to investigator-led cancer database research projects. With these additional NNE-CTR resources, the VBCSS will be strengthened to engage NNE-CTR investigators and address a wide array of topics in breast cancer, including the post-pandemic deficit in cancer screening adherence in rural settings, implementation of artificial intelligence algorithms and machine learning for cancer screening test interpretation and risk prediction in community-based clinical practice, and expansion of preventive cancer screening among New American populations. Additional cancer data resources will be developed, in coordination with the Vermont Department of Health and the UVM Cancer Center, that facilitate the ability of NNE-CTR investigators to address topics in a variety of cancers, with particular attention to access to cancer care in rural and immigrant populations. In total, this administrative supplement will develop human capital in data sciences at UVM, expand the NNE-CTR’s data science infrastructure, and build new data science partnerships within the NNE-CTR and with national consortium partners.