Biomedical researchers around the world are working diligently to find cures for diseases and treatments for injuries, but even the best of them can’t do it alone. More often than not, scientific discovery and advancement come from collaboration and the ability to share data securely and seamlessly. To addressthis need, the Center for Information Technology (CIT) partnered with the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Defense (DoD) to create the award-winning Biomedical Research Informatics Computing System (BRICS), a comprehensive, customizable data science platform designed to efficiently collect, validate, harmonize, and analyze research datasets. A modular, web-based system, BRICS makes the performance of research studies and clinical trials faster, simpler, and more collaborative.
BRICS Addresses the Urgent Need for a Shared Platform
CIT developed BRICS to address the urgent need for a shared platform that simplifies and accelerates clinical trials and studies while enhancing collaboration across the research community. CIT's implementation and operational support of BRICS instances, such as the Federal Interagency Traumatic Brain Injury Research program and the Parkinson’s Disease Biomarker Program Data Management Resource, have advanced data science at NIH and throughout the wider biomedical research community. The CIT operations team works with BRICS users to curate Form Structures and Data Elements, provides training and assistance to users who need to submit or access data, and checks submitted data for issues. CIT administers instances of BRICS, applying security updates and ensuring the systems' availability.
BRICS Allows for Customization and Secure Data Sharing
Designed to streamline the research life cycle, BRICS also offers customizable, plug-and-play modules such as Data Dictionary, Data Repository, Meta Study, and ProFoRMS, that allow organizations to tailor the platform to specific needs. It is scalable, disease-agnostic, and flexible enough to meet diverse research requirements, all while securely managing sensitive human subject data. For users with programming expertise, an API enables advanced data analysis, including AI/ML applications. BRICS also facilitates collaboration through its Global Unique Identifier (GUID) system, which enables data sharing without exposing personally identifiable information, thereby supporting biomarker discovery and longitudinal tracking of research subjects.
Since its launch, CIT’s BRICS team has collaborated with partners on several projects, including some of the world’s leading academic, governmental, and nonprofit institutions. Some of those notable collaborations are outlined below:
Biowulf Supports FITBIR to Diagnose and Treat Traumatic Brain Injuries
The Federal Interagency Traumatic Brain Injury Research (FITBIR) program, a collaboration between DoD and the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), utilizes scalable BRICS components to manage extensive TBI data, supporting over 160 studies and housing data for more than 100,000 research subjects.
FITBIR's comprehensive coverage of age, injury severity, and time helps researchers advance the diagnosis and treatment of traumatic brain injuries across military and civilian populations.
View the FITBIR Summary Data Visualization.
BRICS Advances Best Practices in Traumatic Injury Treatment
The National Trauma Research Repository (NTRR) is a comprehensive, cloud-based platform that leverages BRICS components to facilitate data sharing among trauma investigators by managing research datasets covering the entire patient care trajectory, from injury prevention to long-term outcomes. As the leading cause of death for individuals aged 1 to 46 in the United States, trauma research is critical, and NTRR supports both military-funded and civilian research efforts by enabling researchers to share and request data for secondary analyses.
BRICS Accelerates the Search for Signs of Parkinson’s Disease
INDS launched the Parkinson’s Disease Biomarker Program (PDBP) to accelerate the advancement of Parkinson’s diagnoses and treatments by addressing the lack of biomarkers. Central to this effort is the PDBP Data Management Resource (DMR), built from BRICS components, which standardizes data elements and definitions, facilitating data comparison, access to images, and biosample ordering for research. View Parkinson’s Summary Data.
A National Ophthalmic Disease Genotyping and Phenotyping Network
The National Ophthalmic Disease Genotyping and Phenotyping Network (eyeGENE), established by the National Eye Institute (NEI), facilitates research on eye diseases and their genetic causes by leveraging BRICS components to provide researchers with access to DNA samples, clinical information, and willing study participants. View eyeGene Data Exploration.
One example of this research includes the AMD Integrative Biology Initiative, which focuses on age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a condition that makes it hard to see things clearly in the center of your vision, which is important for activities like reading, sewing, and driving. AMD affects the macula, the part of the eye responsible for seeing fine details. To build on previous research, NEI is working to link the different ways AMD shows up in patients with their genetic information and eye images. This new initiative will be available to researchers and will use special stem cells from participants with specific genetic risks for AMD. For additional BRICS Data Support: View NEI Data Commons.
Sound helpful?
Learn how BRICS can benefit your research and see BRICS in action on the BRICS website.