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Data and Infrastructure
Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI) Biomedical Informatics Core (BIC)
Supporting clinical and translational investigators across all phases of the research lifecycle, the Biomedical Informatics Core (BIC) of the Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI) is directed by Shyam Visweswaran, MD, PhD The BIC develops and maintains Neptune, the institutional research data warehouse, and provides researchers with access to a suite of informatics tools, including i2b2 and SHRINE, designed to make working with complex biomedical data more efficient and accessible. Working with the Research Informatics Office, the BIC provides clinical data to researchers and provisions secure data analytics environments designed to meet the needs of modern biomedical research teams.
Health Record Research Request (R3)
A streamlined pathway to UPMC clinical data for approved research, the Health Record Research Request (R3) service, is available to University of Pittsburgh and UPMC investigators. R3 is administered by the Research Informatics Office (RIO), led by Jonathan Silverstein, MD, MS, as chief research informatics officer, with support from CTSI. RIO technical staff and honest brokers provision research datasets primarily through Neptune, the institutional research data warehouse, and coordinate authorization of additional UPMC data sources as needed. To initiate a request, complete the R3 Intake Form, a process that takes less than 30 seconds. Questions can be directed to the R3 team at healthr3@pitt.edu.
Neptune
At the heart of the University of Pittsburgh’s clinical research infrastructure, Neptune is the institutional research data warehouse developed and maintained jointly by the BIC and the RIO under the leadership of Shyam Visweswaran, MD, PhD, and Jonathan Silverstein, MD, MS. Drawing on the breadth and depth of UPMC—one of the nation's largest integrated health systems, with more than 40 hospitals and 800 outpatient sites across Pennsylvania, New York, and Maryland—Neptune integrates clinical data from UPMC and insurance data from the UPMC Health Plan for more than 5 million patients, with records extending back to 2005. Neptune is designed for interoperability: its data can be readily transformed into widely used common data models, including OMOP, PCORnet CDM and ENACT i2b2, supporting participation in national research networks and multi-site studies.