TY - JOUR
T1 - The Australian, US, Scandinavian Imaging Exchange (AUSSIE)
T2 - An innovative, virtually-integrated health research network embedded in health care
AU - Looi, Jeffrey C.L.
AU - Velakoulis, Dennis
AU - Walterfang, Mark
AU - Georgiou-Karistianis, Nellie
AU - Macfarlane, Matthew D.
AU - Power, Brian D.
AU - Nilsson, Christer
AU - Styner, Martin
AU - Thompson, Paul M.
AU - Van Westen, Danielle
AU - Wilkes, Fiona A.
AU - Wahlund, Lars Olof
N1 - Funding Information:
The clinical medical researchers in psychiatry and psychiatric neuroscience in Australia who are working in health care settings are generally employed either full-time or part-time in the direct provision of care. To develop high-quality research programs that are funded by external grants schemes generally requires dedicated staffing and time for research which active clinicians lack, especially given that schemes such as the National Health and Medical Research Council are highly competitive. We describe here one model of clinical research that leverages off the skills of researchers, with relatively low infrastructure overheads, largely (but not wholly) in the absence of substantive external grants. We hope our Australian, US, Scandinavian Imaging Exchange (AUSSIE) research network will be a bootstrap to external grant funding ().
Funding Information:
This work was supported by the Royal Melbourne Hospital (MNC) (for the Australian National University (ANU) hub’s computer/software infrastructure for image analysis, to DV and MW), ANU Medical School (for software/IT support); and by primarily JCLL’s personal funding, with ACT Health, Lund University and Karolinska Institute (for travel & accommodation costs to form the network).
PY - 2014/6
Y1 - 2014/6
N2 - Objective: To describe the development, design and function of an innovative international clinical research network for neuroimaging research, based in Australia, within a joint state health service/medical school. This Australian, US, Scandinavian Imaging Exchange (AUSSIE) network focuses upon identifying neuroimaging biomarkers for neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative disease. Methods: We describe a case study of the iterative development of the network, identifying characteristic features and methods which may serve as potential models for virtual clinical research networks. This network was established to analyse clinically-derived neuroimaging data relevant to neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative disease, specifically in relation to subcortical brain structures. Results: The AUSSIE network has harnessed synergies from the individual expertise of the component groups, primarily clinical neuroscience researchers, to analyse a variety of clinical data. Conclusion: AUSSIE is an active virtual clinical research network, analogous to a connectome, which is embedded in health care and has produced significant research, advancing our understanding of neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative disease through the lens of neuroimaging.
AB - Objective: To describe the development, design and function of an innovative international clinical research network for neuroimaging research, based in Australia, within a joint state health service/medical school. This Australian, US, Scandinavian Imaging Exchange (AUSSIE) network focuses upon identifying neuroimaging biomarkers for neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative disease. Methods: We describe a case study of the iterative development of the network, identifying characteristic features and methods which may serve as potential models for virtual clinical research networks. This network was established to analyse clinically-derived neuroimaging data relevant to neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative disease, specifically in relation to subcortical brain structures. Results: The AUSSIE network has harnessed synergies from the individual expertise of the component groups, primarily clinical neuroscience researchers, to analyse a variety of clinical data. Conclusion: AUSSIE is an active virtual clinical research network, analogous to a connectome, which is embedded in health care and has produced significant research, advancing our understanding of neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative disease through the lens of neuroimaging.
KW - AUSSIE
KW - Clinical research
KW - Clinical research network
KW - Collaboration
KW - Imaging
KW - International
KW - Neurodegenerative disease
KW - Neuroimaging
KW - Neuropsychiatric disease
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84906860400&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1177/1039856214523494
DO - 10.1177/1039856214523494
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84906860400
SN - 1039-8562
VL - 22
SP - 260
EP - 265
JO - Australasian Psychiatry
JF - Australasian Psychiatry
IS - 3
ER -