A platform for biomarkers
The Ministry of Culture and Science (MKW) of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia is funding a collaborative platform between Forschungszentrum Jülich and the university hospitals of Aachen, Bonn, Cologne and Düsseldorf. The project runs from May 2023 to April 2027 and has a funding volume of just under 2 million euros, of which just under 1 million euros will go to Forschungszentrum Jülich. Prof. Simon Eickhoff from the Jülich Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine and the Helmholtz Research Field Information explains what the project is all about in an interview. (Source: Forschungszentrum Jülich – Press releases)
Prof. Eickhoff, you are setting up a cooperation platform with the University Hospitals of Aachen, Bonn, Cologne and Düsseldorf: “Accessing Behavior for Clinical Data and Joint Usage (ABCD-JU): A Platform for Behavioral Markers of Digital Neuro-Medicine in NRW”. What will it be about?
In neuromedicine, decisions on diagnosis, prognosis and therapy are often made based on subjective observations of patients’ behavior, as there are often no reliable laboratory or biomarkers to objectively identify pathological changes. However, this is not optimal for safe, effective and individualized treatment: it is therefore necessary to identify reliable, quantitative biomarkers.
There is great synergy potential in the ABCD-J region (Aachen-Bonn-Cologne-Düsseldorf-Jülich) with broad clinical expertise, access to large clinical databases, and extensive experience in data management and mobile health platforms. However, until now it has been difficult to link aggregated data across sites to explore appropriate biomarkers.
Therefore, as part of a collaboration funded by the North Rhine-Westphalian Ministry of Culture and Science, we are developing the ABCD-J platform, which records, manages and makes accessible existing and newly collected behavioral data. The important thing here is that the data are thereby put into a uniform format so that they can be shared among the various centers. The platform allows for easy capture of new data and secure data exchange, guaranteeing reusability of data by different partners. As a result, the ABCD-J platform will provide a central infrastructure for new collaborative projects.
How does this platform benefit patients?
The ABCD-J platform is an important step in the development of digital neuromedicine. It provides easy access to innovative digital procedures that can be seamlessly integrated into everyday clinical practice. The platform leverages multiple data sources, such as digitizing clinical and neurobehavioral data, performing digital tests, and capturing disease symptoms in daily life using smart devices. Innovative approaches to phenotypic characterization of behavior, for example through speech, facial expression and movement analysis, are also being used.
Sharing this data from numerous patients offers enormous potential for applications and synergies. By combining advanced data integration with clinical potential, various questions in the field of neurology and psychiatry can be addressed. The platform promotes the research and implementation of biomarkers for the diagnosis and prognosis of neurological and psychiatric diseases. With the availability of reliable biomarkers, individualized treatments can be developed.
What is your research area at the Jülich Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine?
The institute area “Brain and Behavior” at the Jülich Institute for Neuroscience and Medicine focuses its research on the development of methods, workflows and software for the investigation of specific diseases. The focus is on the aspects of research data and workflow management, individual prediction by machine learning and mobile health applications. At Forschungszentrum Jülich, the software infrastructure for managing the data and mobile health applications is being developed, which will serve as the basis for the collaboration. Once the basic functions are established, a permanent co-design process begins in which the participating university hospitals provide direct feedback to optimize the platform.
FZJ/R. Panknin 27.04.2023
The original press release can be found at:
Eine Plattform für Biomarker (only in german)
Localization in the Helmholtz Research Field Information:
Helmholtz Research Field Information, Program 2: Natural, Artificial and Cognitive Information Processing, Topic 5: Decoding Brain Organization and Dysfunction
Contact:
Prof. Dr. Simon Eickhoff
Director at the Institute of Neuroscience und Medicine (INM)
Brain and Behaviour (INM-7)
Phone: +49 2461 61-1791
E-Mail: s.eickhoff@fz-juelich.de
Contact for this press release:
Dr. Regine Panknin
Press Officer
Forschungszentrum Jülich
Phone: +49 2461 61-9054
E-Mail: r.panknin@fz-juelich.de
