The country’s largest population health study worked with Lifebit and AWS to create a ‘Trusted Research Environment’ to access and analyze data.
CanPath, Lifebit, and Amazon Web Services (AWS) are collaborating to build a cloud-based data analytics platform to support researchers in understanding the drivers of health and disease in Canada.
Co-hosted by OICR, CanPath, the Canadian Partnership for Tomorrow’s Health, is the country’s largest population health study. It brings together data from seven regional cohorts across ten provinces, and is a tremendous scientific resource of health, genomic and other data from about one in 100 Canadians.
With this initiative, CanPath is transforming how it shares this data with researchers. Thanks to a $6.2 million grant from Genome Canada, CanPath, Lifebit, and AWS have teamed up to build and host a Trusted Research Environment. On this secure cloud-based platform, researchers can access and analyze data all in one place.
Traditionally, researchers accessed CanPath data by submitting an application and, if approved by an independent Access Committee, receiving the data through secure channels. This process has never experienced a data breach and has supported innovative research, including early cancer detection and studies on immune responses to COVID-19 vaccines. However, with the continuous influx of new data and the anticipated increase in genome sequencing among Canadians, CanPath is evolving its data hosting, sharing, and analysis tools.
The new platform, hosted on the AWS cloud, will provide secure and ethical access to anonymized health data from over 330,000 Canadians collected through CanPath. By integrating diverse datasets from seven regional cohorts, the platform will enable researchers to gain comprehensive insights into Canadians’ health.
“This partnership with Lifebit marks a significant advancement in our ability to manage and utilize data for health research,” said Dr. Philip Awadalla, National Scientific Director of CanPath and Director of Computational Biology for OICR. “We’re excited to unlock new insights from our data, accelerating research that will ultimately improve the health of Canadians.”
Lifebit’s federated Trusted Research Environment technology is central to this project. It allows data analysis to occur where the data resides, eliminating the need to move or copy sensitive information. This environment ensures data security and integrity while facilitating access for approved researchers. Researchers can also upload their own analytical tools and develop new methodologies within the platform, fostering innovation and efficiency.
“This platform is going to be a game-changer for health research in Canada,” said Dr. Victoria Kirsh, National Scientific Coordinator of CanPath, offering a researcher perspective. “With the computational power and data integration capabilities this platform offers, we can tackle complex health questions like never before – it’s effective, efficient, and accessible.”
Given the sensitivity of CanPath’s data, security and privacy are top priorities. Lifebit’s technology complies with global data use regulations and employs robust security measures to protect participants’ data. Strict access controls ensure that data is not shared or accessed without proper authorization, maintaining the confidentiality and trust of study participants. The AWS cloud provides a scalable and secure data storage solution, enhancing the platform’s capabilities.
“We are delighted to partner with CanPath to enhance data-driven health research,” said Dr. Maria Dunford, CEO of Lifebit. “Our federated Trusted Research Environment will ensure that CanPath’s invaluable data are securely managed and available to the research community for driving forward innovative research for the health of people across Canada.”
This new data environment for CanPath will help keep Canada on the cutting edge of innovation in healthcare. Canada has many impressive health data assets but has traditionally struggled with sharing and integrating data across provincial jurisdictions. By harmonizing data from its seven regional cohorts, CanPath has made considerable strides to overcome these barriers. This new centralized platform will further that goal because data won’t have to move across jurisdictional borders.
