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This note is a reminder and clarification on the role of REB (Research Ethics Board) approval for any research using Health Data Nexus data.

Studies involving human participant information using data from Health Data Nexus that meet definition of Research in TCPS 2 (i.e., an undertaking intended to extend knowledge through a disciplined inquiry and/or systematic investigation) require REB review. For studies that meet the definition of research led by someone at U of T, the lead of the study should submit a protocol through U of T’s Research Ethics Board. For studies that are led by TAHSN hospital partners or externals sites, the leads of these studies should submit their project for REB administrative review.

This holds regardless of which Zone the dataset is placed within. As a reminder, Zone 1 requires a credentialing application, all required trainings to be completed, and the corresponding Data Use Agreement to be signed. Zone 2 additionally requires the submission of a project plan which must be approved by the Data Holder. Zone 3 additionally requires the project plan submission to be accompanied by REB approval which is reviewed by the Data Holder. (This can be the same REB approval as that which is required for access to the data for research purposes.)

Use of human participant information using data from Health Data Nexus that do not meet the definition of Research in TCPS 2 do not require REB review. This includes preliminary review and data exploration, educational uses (such as courses and datathons/hackathons), and general purpose investigations into the data.

This breast cancer tumor biopsy dataset, prepared by Dr. William Tran as part of the Health Data Nexus Dataset Grants, is now available on the platform! Take a look at this fascinating dataset!

Collaborative Vertex AI Workspace functionality has been added to Health Data Nexus, allowing you to create a workspace and then share it with another user. This will allow you to work collaboratively with others on code simultaneously in the same research environment. Look forward to this feature at our next Health Data Nexus datathons and workshops!

Check out the first publication about the development and utility of Health Data Nexus! We'd love for you to read and share this article with your academic networks.

The first release of the Bridge2AI Voice dataset is now available! For detailed information regarding the dataset, please see our documentation website: https://docs.b2ai-voice.org/

The Health Data Nexus is now available for use across Canada! If you are a member of any Canadian university or research institution, you can log in using your single sign-on credentials. Stay tuned for international access and further developments on the platform.

The T-CAIREM Hive is the home for all discussions, tips, and questions related to the Health Data Nexus datasets. 

Joining the Hive is easy! Membership in the T-CAIREM Hive is currently available to anyone affiliated with our partner institutions.

Once you've signed up, you can access the Hive Hubs dataset discussion groups. See you on the Hive!

The Temerty Centre for AI Research and Education in Medicine (T-CAIREM) is currently developing a unique online platform for health data that emphasizes patient privacy and security, provides transparent and speedy access, and simplifies data discovery and analysis.

We’re looking for promising datasets to host on our platform. There are several benefits for researchers who contribute data:
• Broader visibility, including targeted workshops and courses
• A cloud-native platform with no data egress possible, giving greater control over data governance
• Data-use statistics that provide useful reporting information for funding agencies
• A centralized model allowing the sharing of developed tools and curated derivations of the data
• A citable dataset that supports career advancement.

Dataset access follows a strict process including credentialing of researchers, training in research with human participants, and signing of a data-use agreement drafted according to specifications from the data contributor.

For more information about submitting a dataset, please contact:
January Adams
Data Governance and Quality Analyst 
Temerty Centre for AI Research and Education in Medicine (T-CAIREM)
contact@healthdatanexus.ai