Cancer Clinical Informatics

The Cancer Clinical Informatics Group provides comprehensive informatics and data support to cancer investigators and research teams across all stages of clinical and translational research. Our services span clinical trial management, data navigation, reporting, dashboards, and custom software development, with a focus on enabling efficient, high-quality research within the HICCC.

Services and Offerings

Clinical Trial Management Systems (Velos eResearch)

We maintain and support HICCC’s clinical trial management system, Velos eResearch, which interfaces with Epic.

Services include:

• Full protocol build-out for investigator-initiated trials
• Custom case report form (CRF) development
• Patient study calendar design
• Ongoing system maintenance and troubleshooting
• Collaboration with biostatisticians to generate data outputs in formats optimized for analysis

Data Navigation

Our group includes a designated Tripartite Clinical Data Navigator (CDN) who fulfills requests for bulk data extraction from medical record systems for research, operations, and patient care.

CDN services include:

• Bulk data extraction from clinical systems
• Assistance with patient consenting for biospecimen collection through the CU Biobank
• Identification of radiology images
• Annotation of samples with clinical facts from the medical record
• Support for research, operational, and quality initiatives

Dashboards and Reporting

We develop custom dashboards using Microsoft Power BI to help investigators and administrators visualize and interpret data.

Use cases include:

• Tracking clinical trial approval processes
• Monitoring annual Cancer Center accruals and trial statistics
• Research administration and operational oversight

Data sources may include Velos eResearch and other institutional databases to which we have access.

OpenSpecimen

We support biospecimen data management through OpenSpecimen.

Services include:

• Loading and validating legacy data
• Building collection protocols
• Developing standard and custom reports

EMERSE

We support EMERSE, a tool that enables researchers and staff to search unstructured clinical text within Epic.

Services include:

• User onboarding and training
• Query development and optimization
• Troubleshooting and consultation

Custom Software Development

For research-protocol–specific needs, we offer custom software development services.

Examples include:

• Study-specific applications
• Workflow automation tools
• Data integration and reporting solutions

Operational Support

The Clinical Informatics Group provides ongoing operational support, including:

• Running and supporting TRAC (Tripartite Request Assessment Committee) requests
• Building and maintaining dashboards, Velos forms, and study calendars
• Loading legacy data and building OpenSpecimen protocols and reports
• Troubleshooting and responding to user issues, including affiliate sites
• Submitting new studies and modifications to CTRP (NCI Clinical Trials Reporting Program)
• Quarterly CTRP accrual reporting (NCI Data Table 4)
• Regular cloud infrastructure and security maintenance (weekly)
• Ongoing development and maintenance of custom software solutions

Request Timelines and Expectations

To ensure high-quality support, investigators are encouraged to engage the Clinical Informatics Group as early as possible. Timelines may vary depending on project complexity and scope. Requests submitted close to deadlines may be declined if insufficient time is available to provide meaningful support

User Policies and Fees

The Clinical Informatics Group operates similarly to a shared resource, providing both short-term consultation and long-term collaboration.

Our Team