Mission
The mission of the Cancer Informatics Shared Resource (CISR) is to provide centralized expertise and infrastructure in biomedical, translational and population cancer informatics to enhance scientific collaboration and accelerate research productivity across the UF Health Cancer Institute.
Aims
Aim 1
Maintain and enhance core cancer informatics infrastructure
The CISR will develop and sustain the UF Cancer Research Data Commons (CRDC), focusing on data capture, standardization integration and harmonization. By adopting and aligning with national data standards such as OMOP and NCI-CRDC, CISR will ensure data interoperability, scalability and utility across diverse cancer research initiatives.
Aim 2
Provide integrated informatics services and training across the translational research continuum
The CISR will offer comprehensive support for investigators at every stage of the translational pipeline, from basic science to clinical and population research. Services include informatics consultation, cohort identification, data curation and analytic modeling.
Aim 3
Expand and align CI-DSR capabilities with strategic cancer research priorities
In partnership with UF Health Cancer Institute leadership and the CISR Scientific Advisory Group, CISR will conduct regular needs assessments and engage in strategic planning to identify emerging research priorities. This includes expanding capacity in artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML), causal inference, pragmatic trials and population health surveillance.
Research Services
Data Curation, Integration and Visualization
- Navigation and consultation to identify the right internal or external data resource for a given research question
- Secure, governance-compliant access to UF Health EHR data through an honest broker model with full PHI protection
- Access to OneFlorida+ Clinical Research Network data — the largest statewide clinical data repository in Florida
- Access to external, public and commercial cancer-relevant datasets such as SEER-Medicare
- Data collection, management and coordination for RWD-based clinical and population science studies
- Curation, integration and harmonization of various data sources into standardized, analysis-ready datasets
- Secure investigator access to the UF Cancer Research Data Commons
- Data visualization including interactive dashboards, exploratory analysis tools and figure-ready dataset outputs
Development and Deployment of AI/ML Algorithms
- Development, training and validation of supervised and unsupervised machine learning models across EHR, claims, genomic and imaging data
- NLP and large language model (LLM) applications to extract clinically meaningful concepts from unstructured EHR data including pathology reports
- Data preprocessing and feature engineering in support of modeling pipelines
- Model performance evaluation using best-practice metrics and external benchmarks
- Integration of AI/ML models and clinical decision support systems into research workflows and translational pipelines
Development and Implementation of eHealth Tools
- Full lifecycle support for eHealth application development, from design and build through deployment and maintenance
- Web-based and mobile health application development including patient portals, symptom trackers, and self-management tools
- Data collection, processing, and management infrastructure for eHealth studies
- Integration of eHealth applications with EHRs and other clinical systems in collaboration with UF Health Research IT
Units
The CISR is organized into three integrated units: Clinical Data Integration & Discovery Unit, Machine Learning & Generative AI Unit, and eHealth & Patient-Centered Informatics Unit. Each has dedicated expertise to support the full spectrum of cancer informatics and data science research.
Clinical Data Integration & Discovery Unit
Machine Learning & Generative AI Unit
eHealth & Patient-Centered Informatics Unit
Submit a Request Form
The CISR supports UF researchers across the full lifecycle of cancer research, from study design and development through deployment and evaluation.
To get started and help us route your request quickly and provide the right level of support, please complete the form.
Contact Information
CISR Director
Yi Guo PhD, FAMIA
CISR Research Coordinator
