Biobank Study Design

3 credits · Graduate School

This is a practical course designed to train you to conduct research using de-identified electronic medical records (EMR) for genetics research. The course will cover three major biobanks, Vanderbilt’s BioVU, the NIH biobank All of Us, and the UK BioBank. After completion of this course you will have the skills to independently execute biobank projects and assist colleagues who wish to utilize these resources. Through a combination of lectures, demonstrations, and hands-on workshops, you will develop competence in all aspects of the biobank research process, including project design, data extraction and cleaning, and analysis. Topics covered will include an overview of the clinical data available in an EMR, techniques for defining phenotypes within the EMR, proper control definition, limitations of biobanks for research, common problems with biobank study design and how to address them, population stratification, IRB approval procedures and other RCR topics, and the project application process. The goal of the course is to develop your own biobank research proposal. SPRING [3] Samuels