{"id":1411,"date":"2019-02-21T08:26:46","date_gmt":"2019-02-21T07:26:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wpethzprd.ethz.ch\/its\/?p=1411"},"modified":"2019-03-04T11:19:14","modified_gmt":"2019-03-04T10:19:14","slug":"secure-scientific-platform-for-confidential-data","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.ethz.ch\/its\/2019\/02\/21\/secure-scientific-platform-for-confidential-data\/","title":{"rendered":"Leonhard Med: Secure Scientific Platform for Confidential Data"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A secure, powerful and\nversatile IT infrastructure for research on confidential data at ETH Zurich <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Providing\nIT solutions for scientific research on confidential data (e.g. human\nbiomedical data) is a considerable challenge. This is because it requires\nfulfilling three main criteria that span a wide area of expertise, and that are\ndifficult to achieve simultaneously: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. security\nand compliance <\/li>
  2. flexibility\nand ease of use and <\/li>
  3. scalability\nand performance<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

    Leonhard Med<\/em>, operated by ETH Zurich Scientific IT Services\n(ITS SIS), is a new data and computing environment that reconciles these\ncriteria. To achieve this, we have combined established and innovative\ntechnical building blocks in a novel way, whilst developing a suitable\nregulatory framework at the same time. Although it has been used in production\nsince the beginning of 2018, it must be continually developed to keep up with\nnew and changing requirements within a rapidly evolving scientific environment.\nWhilst there are other comparable initiatives outside of Switzerland, each with\ndifferent goals and constraints, nothing similar has previously been developed\nwithin Switzerland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Leonhard Med for data driven Precision Medicine and\nPersonalised Health research<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Leonhard Med<\/em> enables collaborative, large-scale and highly diverse biomedical research (including academia and hospitals) at ETH Zurich. In addition, Leonhard Med<\/em> is part of the emerging national network of secure data centres (SPHN<\/a>\/BioMedIT<\/a>). These put ETH in pole position to be the data centre of choice for large projects involving confidential research data on a national and international level, and to teach students working in such projects. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Winner of the 2019 ETH Zurich «ID-Innovationspreis» \/ ITS Innovation Award Ceremony <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Starting in 2018, ETH Zurich IT Services launched the\n\u00e2\u20ac\u02dcInnovationspreis\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 to highlight the most innovative ideas within the organisation.\nTwice a year, individual IT Services employees and IT Services teams can formally\nsubmit a nomination describing their innovative idea, with the applications then\ncarefully evaluated by a select committee. Congratulations to the team of Leonhard\nMed – Secure Scientific\nPlatform for Confidential Data \u2013 winner of the 2019 edition of the\nID-Innovationspreis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"Innovation
    Innovation Award Ceremony at the ITS Employee Info on 30 January 2019<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    Acknowledgements<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    We are\ngrateful to G. R\u00e4tsch (Biomedical Informatics, ETH Zurich) for his valuable\ncontribution in shaping the conceptual design and continuous development of\nLeonhard Med. We thank M. Zimmermann and A. Kahles (G. R\u00e4tsch group, ETH\nZurich) for constructive interaction on the usability of the system. In\nparticular, we acknowledge and appreciate the efforts of E. M\u00fcller (HPC SIS,\nETH Zurich) in the implementation and operation of Leonhard Med. We thank N.\nSchottelius (ungleich glarus ag) for the contribution on the technical\nimplementation of Leonhard Med. We thank A. Harder (ID, ETH Zurich) and M.\nHausherr (TEMET AG) for their support and advising regarding the IT security of\nLeonhard Med. This work is supported by grants from the ETH Zurich Executive\nBoard and the national programs SPHN and BioMedIT.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Contact<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    The Leonhard Med team (ITS SIS): Christian Bolliger, Olivier Byrde, Steven Armstrong, Diego Moreno, Allen Neeser, Urban Bor\u253c\u00edtnik, Samuel Fux, Ronald Jerger, Cristian Scurtescu, Michal Okoniewski, Thomas W\u00fcst, Diana Coman Schmid and Bernd Rinn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n