title: Supporting grid-based clinical trials in Scotland.
abstract: A computational infrastructure to underpin complex clinical trials and medical population studies is highly desirable. This should allow access to a range of distributed clinical data sets; support the efficient processing and analysis of the data obtained; have security at its heart; and ensure that authorized individuals are able to see privileged data and no more. Each clinical trial has its own requirements on data sets and how they are used; hence a reusable and flexible framework offers many advantages. The MRC funded Virtual Organisations for Trials and Epidemiological Studies (VOTES) is a collaborative project involving several UK universities specifically to explore this space. This article presents the experiences of developing the Scottish component of this nationwide infrastructure, by the National e-Science Centre (NeSC) based at the University of Glasgow, and the issues inherent in accessing and using the clinical data sets in a flexible, dynamic and secure manner.
authors.affiliation: National e-Science Centre, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK. r.sinnott@nesc.gla.ac.uk
authors.forename: R O
authors.initials: RO
authors.lastname: Sinnott
authors.forename: A J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Stell
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Ajayi
mesh_terms: D022126:Access to Information; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D016494:Computer Security; D019992:Databases as Topic / Q000458:organization & administration*; D016021:Epidemiologic Studies; D032984:Ethics, Research; D006801:Humans; D008490:Medical Informatics / Q000458:organization & administration*; D012606:Scotland; D013222:State Medicine; D014584:User-Computer Interface