The following text (in Czech language) was largely published in the annual report of the Faculty of Medicine at Masaryk University, summing up the most important events and activities of the Institute of Biostatistics and Analyses in the year 2017.
On 30 September 2017, the Institute of Biostatistics and Analyses (IBA) ceased to function as a standalone cost centre, i.e. a joint workplace of the Faculty of Medicine and the Faculty of Science of the Masaryk University. The main reason for this transformation was the fact that purely academic research had started to prevail over other IBA activities, and the existence of IBA MU as a standalone centre was therefore not reasonable any more. Most activities of the former IBA MU were transferred to the MU’s Faculty of Medicine (leading to the establishment of the Institute of Biostatistics and Analyses at the Faculty of Medicine of the Masaryk University, IBA FM MU); several remaining activities were transferred to the MU’s Faculty of Science. The transformation process was not easy to accomplish, but it was successfully concluded thanks to an effective cooperation of both faculties and the Rector’s Office.
The Institute’s research activities are focused on the analysis of clinical and biological data, coordination and provision of background information for clinical research projects, as well as the development of software products for data collection and visualisation. IBA has continued its teaching activities at the Faculty of Medicine and the Faculty of Science, most notably in the area of data analysis and application of information technology in medical and scientific research, both for undergraduate and graduate students.
With 40 specialised courses, IBA has continued its teaching activities for undergraduate and graduate students of the MU’s Faculty of Medicine, most notably in the areas of clinical data analysis, application of information technology and planning of clinical trials. More than 600 FM MU students attend the IBA courses each year.
| Course focus | Number of courses |
|---|---|
| Analysis of clinical and biological data | 19 |
| Data analysis in practice | 13 |
| Information technology | 3 |
| Biomedical engineering | 5 |
IBA FM MU is the investigator or co-investigator of academic research projects and contract research projects, on both national and international levels.
The three-year Europe-wide CanCon Joint Action (JA) was terminated in 2017, having been focused on the development of cancer care standards and on the innovation of cancer care organisation. The pilot model of a Comprehensive Cancer Care Network was already running at that time; IBA FM MU had previously initiated its establishment in the Vysočina Region and the South Moravian Region. The European Guide on Quality Improvement in Comprehensive Cancer Control [1] was the main output of the CanCon Joint Action; in this guide, JA co-investigators from the Institute of Biostatistics and Analyses significantly contributed to two chapters, namely Cancer screening: policy recommendations on governance, organization and evaluation of cancer screening and Integrated cancer control: the case for comprehensive cancer care networks (CCCN).
Three projects funded by the European programme Erasmus+ were solved at IBA as part of activities aiming to implement modern methods and technologies into the education of medical disciplines. Apart from that, IBA researchers were main investigators or co-investigators of seven projects that were financially supported by the Czech Health Research Council and three projects supported from the Masaryk University funds.
In 2017, IBA FM MU staff again contributed to many research papers, most notably to those published in peer-reviewed international journals with impact factor. The two chapters written as part of the above-mentioned CanCon Joint Action can also be mentioned among important publications.
| Type of publication | Number of publications |
|---|---|
| Article in a peer-reviewed journal – IF | 79 |
| Article in a peer-reviewed journal – Scopus | 14 |
| Article in a peer-reviewed journal – other | 4 |
| Chapter in a book | 3 |
| Article in a conference proceedings | 3 |
The topic of data-driven decision-making was presented by the head of DDT IBA FM MU at the global conference of the European Society for Simulation in Medicine (SESAM). A digital poster with a presentation presented the experience with the introduction of data as an objective and valid basis for further decision-making in medical education at LF MU.
For the first time in history, the 16th MEFANET conference was held outside the Czech Republic in the Slovak Congress Hotel Centrum in Košice. The whole event was held in the spirit of artificial intelligence in medical education, virtual reality and there were also short presentations by regular participants about their improvement and modernization of teaching.
