Centers of Excellence – Precision Medicine Portal

Are you a clinical researcher with an interest in data science and analytics?

A Precision Medicine Center of Excellence (PMCOE) helps researchers translate their insights into clinical applications. The inHealth PMCOE designation includes a defined set of tools and resources aimed at making it easier for Johns Hopkins clinicians to conduct big-data research. This page was built as a repository of information for clinical researchers who are thinking about establishing a PMCOE or are designated as such and need some additional information about the process.

Before Becoming a PMCOE

If your clinical research team is interested in becoming a PMCOE, you can work with the inHealth team to frame your pilot research project and determine how to collect high-quality data in the future. The goal is to derive value — lower cost of care, better patient outcomes, commercial potential, prestigious research — and push it out into the world. As you drive your science forward, becoming a PMCOE benefits you and a broader audience. Follow the journey map below to becoming a PMCOE. For further information, please read our frequently asked questions about “Before Becoming a PMCOE” here.

PMCOE Journey Map

1
Getting Started
2
Define Your Value
3
Steps to Apply
4
Formal Launch
5
Initiate Research and Discovery

1. Getting Started

What should a prospective PMCOE have in place before applying for the program?

A leader committed to success and, ideally, a dedicated junior faculty to manage day-to-day activities
Compelling vision – Can your proposed intervention change care paradigms or become the standard of care?
Clearly defined pilot project (that can be completed in approximately 12 months)
Clinical validity of a proposed intervention or tool
Ability to conceptualize commercial product(s)
Willingness to change your clinical workflow to provide a higher standard of care
Minimum data standard that met IRB approval and patient consents

2. Define Your Value

Time to dig into your value by answering these fundamental questions:

Where will the value of your proposed intervention come from and how will you measure it?

Consider better patient outcomes, lower cost of care, more efficient delivery of care, new candidate biomarkers, new drug targets, novel algorithms, etc.

For example: The Neuro Critical Care Unit (NCC PMCOE) will use better risk scoring to align resources with clinical needs, resulting in reduced cost of care (patients transferred to step-down units) and increased capacity (fewer non-JHU patients turned away from NCCU due to lack of capacity).

How long will it take to deliver the value?

For new diagnostic or new therapeutic target, estimate the time to validate your biomarker.

3. Steps to Apply

Thinking about becoming a PMCOE? Great!

The PMCOE application process is akin to the sequential steps in a job interview; passing each successive round brings you closer to the offer where your acceptance triggers the new hire onboarding phase.

The process is as follows:

Initial screen: Prepare and deliver a 30-minute presentation pitch to the inHealth team that makes the case for your candidacy. (See pitch deck template)
Written application: Complete an online form to assesses your overall readiness.
Candidacy review: inHealth evaluates your candidacy and makes its decision. IF accepted, two onboarding steps remain.
Commercial translation: Provide written responses to questions designed to assess the potential for commercial value creation. This is followed by a 1-hour discussion.
Diagnostic & clinical value: Participate in 1-hour discussion to assess the scientific evidence needed to demonstrate diagnostic & clinical value. Then complete an online form for each research question that describes the clinical validity of the proposed intervention, metrics to be used to measure value, and the research aims

4. Formal Launch

Here is a list of resources available to you as a designated PMCOE:

Assigned project manager – 25% FTE
IRB submission support
Support to build data collection and data management
Data science resources & expertise

Prototype PMAP clinical decision support application, in preparation for your pilot intervention study.

5. Initiate Research and Discovery

How do you initiate research using the Precision Medicine Analytics Platform (PMAP)?

With the help of the inHealth team, prepare to request and receive data. The steps are as follows:

Prepare and submit your IRB eFormR registry protocol, and one or more eFormS studies
Create a specification for your data projection (the better you understand your cohort, the easier it is for the IRB to evaluate your submission)
If needed, build data collection mechanisms
Identify, acquire & harmonize data from new sources
Create your data set, or data projection, then validate that it matches what the IRB approved

From here, it’s on to the Discover and Deliver phases:

Exploration & visualization
Analysis & interpretation
Delivery application

After Becoming a PMCOE

Our PMCOEs have articulated research aims and metrics to show improved patient outcomes through collecting and analyzing large data sets, creating digital tools to translate research into clinical interventions, modernizing research operations, and measuring the impact of research on clinical practice. For further information, please read our frequently asked questions about “After Becoming a PMCOE” here.