Medical Big Data Center set up in Beijing

Tsinghua University's Center for Statistical Science has set up a Medical Big Data Center to support the increasing demand for medical big data research and to follow the call for developing big data by the State Council in China.

Analysis Group, one of the largest economic consulting firms headquartered in Boston, will also join the center as a strategic partner to develop the Medical Big Data Center.

According to Liu Jun, director of the Center for Statistical Science of Tsinghua University, who is also professor of statistics at Harvard University, the center's research will focus on medical big data methodology development and applications.

"The center will also provide research to support clinical decision making, health policies, hospital and healthcare system management, and innovation by the healthcare industry," he said.

"Meanwhile, the center will also focus on the development of talents who will lead medical big data research in academics, government and the healthcare industry."

The Medical Big Data Center will work together with the Institute for Data Sciences and Medical School, while other institutes in Tsinghua will also invite researchers and experts from various academic and research organizations, including Peking University, the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Harvard University。

Clinical experts from major hospitals and medical institutions will also join to develop the medical big data research platform, said Liu.

Liu said the collaboration between Tsinghua University and Analysis Group presents a strong combination in scientific research and talent development.

While Tsinghua has a world-class research team with a solid theoretical foundation supporting medical big data research, Analysis Group offers extensive experience in the global applications of medical big data research to support medical providers, payers, the health industry and government policy makers, he said.

The research teams from Tsinghua and Analysis Group have already been collaborating closely over the years in fields of comparative effectiveness analysis, construction of medical big data, data mining, personalized medicine and Chinese natural language processing.

The collaboration will help develop talent who will play an important role in medical big data research, medical informatics and related industries in China, he said.