German research centre shares COVID-19 data globally
Published:
Est. reading time: 2 minutes
Author: Ruth Kearney
To support data sharing and knowledge dissemination, the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research partnered with NHQ to create a global COVID-19 study platform.
"Nightingale HQ helped us quickly build on the success of an open knowledge and data sharing platform with serohub.net to support researchers globally. They took our requirements to build a centralised hub of resources and delivered on key functions like the ability to add research studies, publications and even share case-based data. The result has enabled our partners to contribute easily and at speed their knowledge and tools, helping to improve evidence-based decision-making on COVID-19. "
Stephan Glöckner - Helmoltz, Project Lead, LEOSS.sero-survey
As a response to the worldwide pandemic, Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research in Germany required a fast and secure way for researchers to share COVID-19 data.
The result was Serohub, a platform to accelerate research about the seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2. We delivered a platform to enable researchers, government, and industry partners to contribute knowledge and tools and ultimately improve evidence-based decision-making on COVID-19.
Approach
The overall approach was to support the increased use of data-driven approaches for infection research and drive greater collaboration. The project had four primary aims:
- be a community space for researchers
- allow for critical appraisal of diagnostic trials
- host study-related documents
- be a cloud-based, meta-analysis platform
Objectives
- Build a centralised platform where researchers can share studies, publications, and data easily
- Incorporate four key platform elements: community, trial summary, document, and meta-analysis
- Train and support staff in adopting and maintaining the platform to ensure long-term sustainability
Achievements
- Align with research, management, and technical teams on data infrastructure and content
- Built a sharing facility using the Netlify CMS to allow easy study management
- Used GitHub to enable greater levels of collaboration in a cost-effective way
- Delivered a general public website and a service environment for researchers
- Trained and onboarded staff to use and maintain the platform effectively ensuring scalability
Key results
- Serohub platform launched
- 105 Publications uploaded
- 6 major research studies shared
- Collaborations across 3 continents