DFG Projects with the TMF Conclude Second Funding Phase
A group photo from the concluding workshop of the funded DFG research projects. © TMF
Tailored infrastructures are a critical success factor for medical research. Since 2016, the German Research Foundation (DFG) has been funding eight scientific method projects with a total of 10 million euros, which have established such infrastructures in close collaboration with the TMF – Technology and Methods Platform for Networked Medical Research. With this, the DFG sends an important signal for the advancement of medical research and the sustainability of the necessary infrastructures. "Through the TMF, many fruitful synergies have emerged between the projects and individuals as well as with other scientific initiatives," praised Katja Hartig from the DFG at the joint concluding workshop of the funded DFG research projects in Berlin the success of the funding measure.
Integration of Method Platforms with Method Projects
The method projects funded by the DFG address a wide range of methodological topics – from analyzing data quality to standardized consent management to planning support for interoperable information systems. The TMF supports the projects as a coordination center. In this role, it fulfills not only a technical project advisory function but also its role as a community platform.
"The TMF supported the individual projects as partners, coordinators, and advisors within the framework of DFG funding," summarizes Thomas Bahls from the University of Greifswald on behalf of the RADAR project. "The particularity of a platform like the TMF lies clearly in the interaction between technical heterogeneity and interdisciplinary networking. This enabled the projects to initiate impulses that led to entirely new solutions."
Promoting Synergies Between Projects
Through the work of the TMF, diverse connections and synergies between the projects were established. This was implemented, among other things, by closely integrating the projects into the various workgroups of the TMF, which provided continuous advice and support to the projects. "The opportunity for exchange with the professional communities in the TMF’s workgroups was very well received and intensively utilized by the projects," summarizes Dr. Johannes Drepper, scientific officer of the TMF.
The discussion with the experts of the workgroups provided continuous scientific input for the projects throughout the entire duration. In particular, the IT-related projects utilized the exchange with the Medical Informatics Initiative (MII) of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), which took place through the TMF’s workgroups and the accompanying structure of the MII.
"The short distances and the networking with other projects facing similar challenges are a significant added value that the TMF offers," summarizes PD Dr. Dr. Michael Kiehntopf from the University Hospital Jena. Sebastian Stäubert from the University Hospital Leipzig emphasized that...
... the DFG's requirement for networking with other projects forced us to move from theory to practice. For us, this was a great gain, and it improved our project.
Technical Support for Individual Projects by the TMF
In addition to its coordinating and networking function, the TMF continued supporting individual projects through its scientific, strategic, and organizational expertise. The innovative concept of the DFG, to maintain a pool of various data protection, legal, and IT expertise with the TMF’s central project, proved to be very successful. Thanks to continuous funding, the TMF was able to react flexibly to the respective requirements of the projects, both temporally and thematically, and also to carry out work that was either unforeseeable or not planned at the time of application.
Sustainable Provision and Dissemination of Results
The results of the funded method projects are disseminated on the platforms and channels of the TMF so that a broader community of researchers can benefit from them. Through the ToolPool Health Research, the projects have access to a central and visible exchange platform for research tools and instruments. The further development of the Toolpool portal as part of the work in the TMF’s central project has advanced the sustainable provision and dissemination of results not only in the DFG funding initiative but also provides additional functions for future projects.
Overview of the Funded Projects:
- Standards and tools for assessing data quality in complex epidemiological studies. Project leadership: PD Dr. Carsten Oliver Schmidt, Greifswald
- MAGIC – Mainzelliste, Samply.Auth and the Generic Informed Consent Service as open-source tools for identity, consent, and rights management in medical collaborative research. Project leadership: Dr. Martin Lablans, Heidelberg
- Planning support for interoperable information systems in clinical research (3LGM2IHE). Project leadership: Prof. Dr. Alfred Winter, Leipzig
- Further development and establishment of the National Metadata Repository (NMDR). Project leadership: Prof. Dr. Alfred Winter, Leipzig
- Investigations into the influence of decentralized structures in the field of biobanks on the quality of biomaterial samples. Project leadership: PD Dr. Karoline I. Gaede, Borstel
- Anonymized routine data from outpatient care for health services research, RADAR. Project leadership: Prof. Dr. Eva Hummers-Pradier, Göttingen
- CandActCFTR, a database for compounds that improve CFTR function in cystic fibrosis. Project leadership: PD Dr. rer. nat. Frauke Stanke, Hannover
- Semantic text analysis for quality-controlled extraction of clinical phenotype information in Healthcare Integrated Biobanking (STAKI2B2). Project leadership: PD Dr. Michael Kiehntopf, Jena
- The TMF’s coordination application. Project leadership: Prof. Dr. Michael Krawczak, Kiel
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Further Information
About the TMF
The TMF – Technology and Methods Platform for Networked Medical Research e.V. stands for research, networking and digitisation in medicine. It is the umbrella organisation for collaborative medical research in Germany, within which leading researchers exchange knowledge, jointly develop ideas and concepts, and thus shape the future of medical research in the digital age. Since 2016, the TMF has been coordinating DFG-funded projects with and through the TMF.
