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Informatics

CCTS Informatics provides the resources and expertise (both bioinformatics and clinical informatics) to support biomedical collaboration and consultation across the translational research spectrum. We offer help with study design; access to summary, limited (de-identified), and fully identified data sets; innovative tools to support clinical, translational, and outcomes research; and data analytic services. Our vision is to build a vibrant community of collaborating informaticians not only across the CCTS Hub with its academic medical system, but also across the regional CCTS Partner Network and national CTSA Consortium. 

Informatics Gateway

Informatics Gateway Request Form Button

The Informatics Gateway is an enterprise-wide forum for collaborative project development. The Gateway gathers experts in the appropriate area of informatics, along with biostatisticians, methodologists, and clinical and translational scientists, to help investigators explore novel research directions. To submit a project idea for consideration, fill in our Informatics Gateway Request Form or contact CCTS Research Commons at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 205-996-4478.

Bioinformatics

CCTS Bioinformatics provides data and analytic support for the following:

  • Next Generation Sequence Analysis
  • Microarray analysis
  • Microbiome
  • Data storage, management, and sharing plans
  • Southeast SHRINE Consortium 
  • Educational tools and programs

Clinical Research Informatics

CCTS Clinical Research Informatics provides access to clinical data in the UAB Health System electronic health record to support: 

  • Enterprise Data Warehouse (EDW) Initiative
  • Data access and exchange (via i2b2, SHRINE, and EDW analysts)
  • Subject recruitment and retention tools—cohort feasibility, subject identification (with IRB approval), clinical phenotype
  • Design and implementation of clinical research studies and secondary data analyses
  • Targeting clinical trial opportunities (TriNetX)
  • Informatics research (UAB Informatics Institute)
  • Data science for population insights and "big data" integration 

Data Access and Support

i2b2 is a scalable informatics framework designed for translational research. It enables users to perform an enterprise-wide search on a de-identified repository of health information. CCTS Informatics offers hands-on i2b2 training to investigators twice a month, with follow-up support on an as-needed basis.

The ACT Network is a real-time, open-access platform allowing researchers throughout the CTSA consortium to explore and validate recruitment feasibility for multi-site clinical studies using electronic health record data. ACT is NIH-funded, HIPAA-compliant and IRB-approved. Usingthe ACT Network, investigators can:

  • Explore patient populations in depth, in real time, from their desktop.
  • Confirm study feasibility by iteratively testing and refining inclusion and exclusion criteria.
  • Demonstrate study feasibility in funding proposals and IRB submissions.
  • Identify potential partners for multi-site studies by searching for patients across the CTSA network.

All qualified investigators at institutions within the CCTS Partner Network may request access to ACT by contacting CCTS Clinical Informatics Director Matt Wyatt at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

For more complex data needs, including access to detailed data sets, investigators can submit a request to CCTS Informatics for support from an Electronic Data Warehouse (EDW) analyst.

Informatics Training

CCTS Informatics offers multiple opportunities throughout the year for investigators interested in learning more about informatics or how to use informatics tools such as i2b2. CCTS also offers a series of i2b2 training videos for those researchers who prefer the flexibility of learning online and/or who wish to refresh their i2b2 knowledge. 

Get to Know CCTS Informatics!

CCTS Informatics consolidates expertise from across the CCTS Partner Network. Our team's skillset spans the informatics spectrum, and our project list will excite your imagination.