Research

The goal of the Center of Excellence for Mobile Sensor Data-to-Knowledge (MD2K) is to generate generalizable theory, methods, tools, and software to address major barriers to processing complex mobile sensor data. It seeks to develop and implement a standards-based, interoperable, extensible and open-source big data software platform for efficient utilization of MD2K data analytics. The MD2K Center will demonstrate the feasibility, utility, and generalizability of the MD2K approach by implementing the entire MD2K data analytics system in the context of two biomedical applications - reducing relapse among abstinent daily smokers and reducing readmission among congestive heart failure (CHF) patients. All the tools and software developed by the Center will be freely available, standards-compliant and open-source, to engage data science researchers in advancing the science of MD2K and its integration with other biomedical big data such as Electronic Health Records (EHRs), genomics, and imaging. The Center will provide training to help biomedical researchers install the MD2K software on their mobile devices and servers to collect mobile sensor data and analyze these data for biomedical discovery.

The MD2K Center is a team science initiative; its research, training, and consortium success hinges on developing and implementing effective mechanisms to sustain transdisciplinary collaborations among data science and biomedical researchers to achieve both desired scientific advances in MD2K and their widespread use in the community.

Research is being conducted in four main thrusts: Mobile Sensor Data-to-Information; Mobile Sensor Information-to-Knowledge; Computation, and Application. In these areas, siginficant strides have been made in the discovery of biomarkers, development of just-in-time interventions (JITAI), new computational methodology and new ways of addressing privacy issues inherent in mHealth research.