Biomedical Research Informatics Center

Our research leverages advanced informatics and data science to tackle complex pediatric health challenges. We transform vast amounts of clinical and research data into meaningful insights. Through our focus areas, collaborative studies, and funded initiatives, we drive discoveries that improve children's health care outcomes.

Focus Areas 

Our center focuses on key areas, such as:

• Biomedical data science: Developing data integration platforms and applying machine learning to analyze pediatric health data from EHRs and multiple sources.
• Statistical innovation: Creating novel approaches for modeling health trajectories and discovering patterns in longitudinal pediatric data.
• Precision medicine: Integrating genomics, bioinformatics, and pharmacogenomics for individualized diagnostics and treatments.
• Research informatics infrastructure: Maintaining high-performance computing resources and developing specialized applications for collaborative research.
• Geospatial analysis: Combining geographic information with clinical data to understand environmental exposures and disease patterns.
• Natural language processing: Extracting meaningful data from clinical notes and patient records for comprehensive research.
• Health trajectory modeling: Tracking and predicting changes in health measures over time for individual patients and communities.

We enable research through generous grants. This support moves us forward and allows us to meaningfully contribute to scientific discovery. We engage with many notable grants, including: 

PEDSnet: A Pediatric Learning Health System

National Institutes of Health (NIH)

IDeA Networks of Biomedical Research Excellence (INBRE) for Clinical and Translational Research (CTR)

Centers of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE): Sickle Cell

BRIC supports Nemours Children's researchers across the Delaware Valley, North Florida, and Central Florida regions. Through four specialized cores, we provide essential services in clinical research data analytics, research data management, biostatistics, and bioinformatics.

We offer end-to-end data management and analytical support throughout the research lifecycle, from study design to publication. Our expertise in advanced methodologies, data science approaches, and analytical software empowers researchers to achieve their objectives and drive advancements in pediatric medicine.

The strength of our research lies in our connections and capabilities. Through strategic partnerships with clinical departments, academic institutions, and research networks, we amplify our impact on pediatric health. These collaborations are powered by robust computational infrastructure and specialized research tools that enable innovative, data-driven research at scale.

Our center maintains state-of-the-art computational infrastructure and specialized research tools to support complex pediatric research. From high-performance computing to advanced analytics software, we provide the technical foundation that enables innovative data science, bioinformatics, and clinical research.

Computational Infrastructure 

We have significant computational power and data storage capacity to support demanding pediatric research projects, including:

• High-performance computing cluster with significant GPU capacity for genomic analyses, predictive modeling, speech processing, and deep learning.
• Dedicated web/computing and database servers with substantial processing power and storage.

Research Tools & Technologies

Our center leverages a wide range of specialized software, programming languages, and database platforms to advanced data management, integration, and analysis, including:

• Statistical/analytics software: SPSS, SAS, R, Bioconductor
• Programming languages: Python, R, C/C++, Java, etc.
• Database technologies: MySQL, PostgreSQL, REDCap