Research Spotlight: The MOMI Project

To showcase BIC expertise and resources, we have initiated a collaboration with the Division of Maternal Fetal Medicine (MFM) in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Kristine Lain, MD, and the MFM group have developed the Medical Outcomes of Mothers and Infants (MOMI) registry, and with a tissue repository administered by the new centrally administered biospecimen core supported by the Office of the Vice President for Research (OVPR) and the Translational Technologies and Resources Committee.

When complete, this repository will integrate clinical data from UK's Electronic Medical Record system (EMR), to both research-specific data captured outside the EMR, as well as biospecimen data.

The MOMI registry will reside within the High-Performance Analytical Data Warehouse (HPADW) and be administered by BIC. The tissue repository in the central biospecimen core will likely be implemented with the caTissue Suite to enable comprehensive annotation and tracking.

BIC already possesses significant caTissue expertise via BIC member, Joe Pulliam, MD, who directs the Markey Cancer Center Biospecimen Core Program. The BIC will also develop a Web-based front end for research-specific data entry. Structured data entry templates are currently used for capturing relevant obstetric clinical data within the EMR.

Reporting facilities for MOMI will be provided by BIC as part of the reporting tools to support the entire HPADW. This system will coordinate the process by which investigators gain access to clinical data, as well as maternal and pregnancy related biospecimens. BIC will implement the project in stages, with the initial stage containing core clinical data on all patients receiving obstetric care at UK.

This data is used to support quality and safety initiatives that directly affect patient care. A subsequent stage will add the capture and integration of research specific data, as well as biospecimen management. Future stages will include systems to facilitate collaboration with clinical care facilities in others parts of the state by assisting in the capture and integration of maternal and neonatal data from other sites.

This collaboration exemplifies the BIC mission to provide technical assistance across CCTS in the three critical areas of research and service, education, and advancing professional and ethical standards.

BIC is supporting research and service by developing the storage, retrieval and dissemination technologies to assist the division of MFM in its efforts to improve patient care and safety through translational research and the use of information technology.

Much of this effort is centered on development of our HPADW, which will house the MOMI database. This collaboration also provides numerous unique educational opportunities for graduate and undergraduate students at UK. These opportunities offer exposure to a broad range of biomedical informatics issues, including database design and implementation, database integration, data mining and knowledge discovery, development of clinical decision support tools for obstetric care, and workflow analysis and human-computer interfaces.

In addition, the project provides a useful framework for developing one or more practicum-based courses in biomedical informatics. This project also offers an opportunity for regular involvement of OB/GYN residents and faculty with exposure of these clinical practitioners to the theory and practice of biomedical informatics. The complexities, along with the relative infancy of biomedical informatics research involving mothers and infants, also provide an opportunity for UK to collaborate and share our experience in the process of developing ethical and professional standards.