Research Information Systems Consortium
Formation
of RISC
The mission of the Research Information Systems Consortium (RISC)
is to provide the highest quality support for health and mental
health research, using the most up-to-date information technology.
RISC is a partnership involving the office of Technology and Information
Systems (TIS) of the New York State Psychiatric Institute and the
Data Coordinating Center (DCC) of Columbia University. The RISC
Group was established to develop data-related applications for health
science researchers by drawing on recent advances in information
technology and data management. Current RISC projects include web-based
screening programs for clinical trials and epidemiological studies,
web-based project management and data entry systems for multi-site
projects, and secured electronic data transfer and analysis of CT
Scans.
The management of data for clinical trials is increasingly under
government scrutiny. Questions of data and safety monitoring that
require oversight and examination of studies to ensure the safety
of participants and the validity and integrity of data have grown
in importance. New technologies in the areas of database management,
encryption, and secured access can be introduced to meet these growing
challenges. The RISC group specializes in using these technologies
to meet the most stringent oversight demands.
Current Projects
 Neuropsychological
Screening Instrument
This web-based screening instrument was developed in conjunction
with a multi-site clinical trial, Prevention of Alzheimer's Disease
with Estrogens.
Principal Investigator: Mary Sano, Ph.D
Project Description: The on-line instrument allows the user
to enter demographic data and neuropsychological test score information
for a particular subject. Standardized test scores are then generated,
with adjustment for the subject's demographic characteristics. Project-specific
inclusion criteria are then applied to these standardized scores,
and an algorithm based decision is generated, indicating whether
or not the subject meets criteria for inclusion in the trial, or
whether further testing is indicated. All data entered and results
can be printed locally. Data are not stored.
Risk
Factors for Alzheimer's Disease
Project Description: This project was developed with support
from the Washington Heights / Inwood Columbia Aging Project (Principal
Investigator: Richard Mayeux, M.D.) and the Prevention of Alzheimer's
Disease with Estrogens Clinical Trial (Principal Investigator: Mary
Sano, Ph.D.). The instrument allows for entry of information about
risk factors that may be associated with the development of Alzheimer's
disease. Data are checked for completeness and accuracy, then submitted
to a central database. Data for a particular individual may subsequently
be called up in Edit Mode, but. ID checks ensure that new information
about the same subject cannot be entered twice.
Endometrial
Biopsy Registration Form
This project was supported with funding from the Reproductive Medicine
Network.
Principal Investigator: Carolyn Westhoff, M.D. in conjunction
with a multi-site study of female fertility. Data about a prospective
subject is entered and automated checks are conducted to ensure
that the subject meets all eligibility criteria.
Jerusalem Study
(Dolores Malespina, MD)
Neurocysticerosis
Treatment in Ecuador (W. Allen Hauser, MD)
March
of Dimes: Perinatal Health in the United States
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