Quantitative Data Sciences Core

The mission of the Quantitative Data Sciences Cores is to provide a state-of-the-art, integrated approach for data science support in Biostatistics, Bioinformatics and Clinical Informatics to Lurie Cancer Center members in the basic, clinical and population sciences. The core combines the former Biostatistics Core Facility and the Cancer Informatics Core Facility and collaborates in three main areas: biostatistics, bioinformatics and clinical informatics.

Contact Us

Director

Masha Kocherginsky, PhD
Professor
Department of Preventive Medicine
& Obstetrics and Gynecology

Associate Directors

Elizabeth T. Bartom, PhD
Scientific Associate Director of Bioinformatics
Assistant Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics and Preventive Medicine

Matthew J. Schipma, PhD
Technical Associate Director of Bioinformatics
Research Assistant Professor, Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics

Firas H. Wehbe, MD, PhD
Associate Director of Clinical Informatics
Associate Professor, Preventive Medicine

Intake Form

Please fill out a brief Project Description Form when you are ready to submit your request for QDSC services, and a QDSC member will get in touch with you.

Services & Equipment

Key Services

Biostatistics:

Research study design
- Power/sample size
- Experimental design
- Statistical Analysis Plans
- Data collection tools
Statistical analysis
- Variety of statistical methods
- Data visualization
- Interpretation of results
- Manuscript writing
Clinical Trials
- Design and development
- eCRF design with PI and QAM
- Analysis and reporting
Grant development
Clinical trials support (IIT)
Basic science and clinical studies
Reproducible research pipelines

Bioinformatics:

Raw data from NUSea or outside data
NGSCheckMate — sample validation
RNA-Sea
- Bulk or single cell
- Alignment, transcript quantification, differential expression, pathway analysis
- scRNA-Seq
ChIP-Sea
Variant Analysis
CRISPR screen analysis
ATAC-Sea
Standard pipelines and new pipeline development
- CETO — modular system of sequence analysis tools and pipelines
Study design and analysis in collaboration with Biostatistics

Clinical Informatics:

OncoSET
- Data management: outcomes registry, biobank, raw sequence files
- Integration with Epic
Data Capture (NOT1S/REDCap)
- Development
- Work with QAM to standardize across trial
Analytics for LCC and CTO
- Patient recruitment to trials
- Financial tracking and dashboard
- CCSG/CoC reports
- LCC Membership DB
NM EDW
- Clinical research data analysts
- EHR data exports
Pathology Core
- Biobanking database
- Disburser — sample disbursing tracking
Custom clinical databases
- Prostate, Head and Neck, Melanoma, RadOnc Breast, COVID-19 and Cancer

In addition to the co-directors, each area includes faculty and staff who will work with Lurie Cancer Center members in providing expertise as needed. Core members also engage in the following general activities:

Collaboration with cancer center members across all programs;
Collaboration with cancer center members on both the Chicago and Evanston campuses
Discussion about research objectives and hypotheses;
Writing informatics and statistical sections for grant applications;
Active collaboration through funded grant activity;
Active co-authoring of research findings
Interaction and integration with other cancer center cores as needed;
Interaction and integration but not overlapping with cores and entities external to the cancer center as needed (NUCATS, IPHAM, CPS, CDSI, BCC, NUGENE, NUSeq);
Development of new methodology in Biostatistics and Biomedical Analytics
Development and review of cancer related protocols;
Education through individual contact, group seminars, journal clubs and fellow/junior faculty development;