INFORMATICS CORE The goal of the Informatics Core is to collaborate with UM BACPAC MRC investigators and other core resource scientists to enhance the quality of the research undertaken in the BACPAC initiative. The Core personnel have been chosen because of their expertise in areas relevant to all stages of the BACPAC research project, beginning with the formulation of the research question, through the experimental design and data collection stages, including data analysis and interpretation, to the writing of reports and dissemination of results. The Informatics Core personnel have played a significant role in designing the proposed studies, assessing phenotyping components, and in planning the data analysis. In addition to direct support of the projects and other cores, senior statisticians and bioinformaticians will also focus on methodology development and the advance of bioinformatics capabilities related to the needs of chronic low back pain research in this HEAL initiative.
The Specific Aims of the Informatics Core are to: a) Assist investigators in the design of clinical experiment utilizing the SMART design; b) Develop new algorithms for assessing different profiles of cLBP patients based on pre-treatment phenotypic measures, including patient reported outcomes, quantitative sensory testing, and multisite functional neuroimaging; c) Assist investigators in the analysis and interpretation of data from the clinical experiment, including analyses to understand the mechanisms through which treatments for cLBP reduce pain and increase function and how the phenotypic characteristics of patients moderate the effectiveness of the proposed interventions, and in writing of manuscripts relaying BACPAC results to the scientific community; d) Work collaboratively both within the Mechanistic center, and across the DAC, Tech sites and the larger BACPAC initiative to provide expertise and support for phenotyping cLBP patients and discovering most effective treatments and/or sequence of treatments for cLBP patients. A number of distinctive features and innovations were incorporated into the UM Informatics Core to make it more efficient and cost-effective. We have brought together strengths in Bioinformatics and the algorithmic and pipeline platforms, and strengths in biomathematical modeling and statistical analysis. To integrate the bioinformatical and biostatistical support we have included Core faculty with research interests at the intersection of the two sciences. The UM Informatics Core has proven capability of cutting edge methodology development in Bioinformatics, Biomathematics and Biostatistics, as well as providing innovative applications of the new methods to benefit the collaborative BACPAC effort. .
