UF-FSU Clinical and Translational Science Award

The Biostatistics, Informatics, and Research Design (BIRD) Program is your resource for research design support and consulting services from health data experts. The BIRD Program provides a central location to access support services related to human health data science, informatics, and clinical and translational research design including:

• Clinical and translational research design
• Biomedical informatics database access (e.g., OneFlorida Data Trust, i2b2)
• Informatics and data science support
• Quantitative data analysis
• Qualitative data analysis
• Access to support services for health data collection

To support these services, we link FSU researchers with FSU and UF experts with NIH-supported experience in various methodological techniques including: clinical and translational research design (in collaboration with the UF Clinical and Translational Science Institute’s Research Design and Data Coordinating Center); biomedical informatics; artificial intelligence; high throughput genetics and genomics; quantitative research and data analysis (in collaboration with FSU’s Office of Clinical Research Advancement); qualitative research and data analysis (in collaboration with the FSU College of Medicine’s Network for Clinical Research, Training and Community Engagement); and measurement and evaluation in health-related research. Our team members have established funding records with NIH, which is a required component for many NIH proposals, and can serve on grants as biostatisticians and data scientists. Investigators can also consult with the BIRD Team on research design, data acquisition and management, informatics, and data analysis needs that are applicable across the entire translational research spectrum: basic research, preclinical research, clinical research, clinical implementation, population health research, and public health.

Vision: To equip clinical and translational researchers with new capabilities to answer questions that cannot be answered today. These capabilities will be enabled by new data sources and types at the UF­–FSU CTSA Hub, statewide, and nationwide. We anticipate that FSU researchers, from students to faculty, will use these new capabilities to conduct priority studies that aim to improve health outcomes.

We provide one-on-one consultations as needed, and particularly early in the design stage. Please utilize the CTSA Service Request Form to request assistance. 

In addition, we have a BIRD Program Canvas site that contains biostatistics and informatics training resources and information about the OneFlorida Data Trust, including publications, i2b2 query examples, and workshop recordings including a OneFlorida i2b2 workshop and an All of Us Workbench workshop. Enroll in the Canvas site, and enjoy the resources and workshops!

The main goals of BIRD are to:

1. Align resources throughout FSU through collaborations among but not limited to: FSU’s College of Medicine, Innovation Hub, College of Nursing, College of Social Work, College of Communication and Information, University Libraries, Departments of Statistics, Scientific Computing, Computer Science, and the Health Data Science Initiative.
2. Provide support for research design, informatics, and data science in collaboration with the UF Clinical and Translational Science Institute’s Research Design and Data Coordinating Center (for specialized clinical and translational research design support); FSU’s Health Data Science Initiative; the FSU College of Medicine’s Network for Clinical Research, Training and Community Engagement; and FSU’s Office of Clinical Research Advancement (for general biostatistical analysis support).
3. Offer training workshops in research design and core data analytic skills including data acquisition, data cleaning, data analytics software (e.g., SAS, SPSS, R, and Python), statistical analysis, data mining, machine learning, and data visualization.
4. Provide health data portals for accessing resources, including the OneFlorida Data Trust.
5. Provide training and access to health data query, collection, and management capabilities including i2b2, Qualtrics, and REDCap.
6. Provide easy access to consultants through the BIRD Consulting Suite. Investigators and students can submit service requests through the ticketing system: CTSA Service Request Form. 
7. Clinical research and community engagement support services are provided by the FSU Network for Clinical Research, Training and Community Engagement (NCRT-CE). NCRT-CE services include support for: designing and initiating studies, operationalizing and implementing studies, and completing studies and disseminating findings. NCRT-CE also offers training and community engagement services. The NCRT-CE home page contains information about services provided. Investigators, coordinators, and students can request services through the CTSA Service Request Form. General questions may be directed to ncrt-ce@med.fsu.edu.