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Global Health Informatics

Ehealth Latin America

My research has focused on designing and evaluating platforms for international collaborative clinical protocols. I am investigating the challenges of data interchange among countries and patterns of collaboration between clinicians and basic science researchers. In recent years, there has been a significant growth of platforms for translational research including i2b2 (Informatics for Integrating Biology and the Bedside), Transmart, CBioPortal, iDash, iCod, G-DoC, caTRIP and others that have been used for collaborative research.  Despite many projects and with large investments, little is known about the impact and measurable outcomes resulting from the implementation of such platforms. Indeed, while several papers have outlined the requirements, the architecture, and the differences in features regarding other systems, no empirical research has been undertaken to understand the different implementation strategies, the use cases and ultimately the return on investment measured in terms of outcomes on research processes, collaboration, and discoveries translated into clinical care.  In this area of translational research informatics, my research examines the design and effectiveness of translational collaboration platforms. I am designing and evaluating platforms for international collaborative clinical protocols. I am investigating the challenges of data interchange among diverse clinical and research groups, data privacy laws and challenges to data interchange between countries, and patterns of collaboration between clinicians and basic science researchers. This research will help provide insights current implementations and avoid problems from previous efforts. A recent paper summarizes some of the current challenges in global translational platforms. Previous work include the development of the Pediatric Oncology Network Database, a secure, web-based, multilingual pediatric hematology/oncology database created for use in countries with limited resources to meet various clinical data management needs including cancer registration, delivery of protocol-based care, outcome evaluation, and assessment of psychosocial support programs.

Presentations

Publications:

  1. Fite BZ, Hinostroza V, States L, Hicks-Nelson A, Baratto L, Kallianos K, Codari M, Yu B, Jha P, Shams M, Stoyanova T, F. Chapelin, Liu A, Rashidi A, Soto F, Quintana Y, Davidzon GA, Marycz K, Gibbs IC, Chonde DB, Patel CB, and Daldrup-Link HE. In Press. “ Increasing Diversity in Radiology and Molecular Imaging: Current Challenges.” Molecular Imaging and Biology.
  2. Dankwa-Mullan I, Scheufele E, Matheny ME, Quintana Y, Chapman WW, Jackson G, and South BR. In Press. “A Proposed Strategy on Integrating Health Equity and Racial Justice into the Artificial Intelligence Development Lifecycle.” Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved.
  3. South BR, Chapman WW, Dankwa-Mullan I, Matheny M, and Quintana Y. 3/25/2021. “Challenges and Opportunities for Implementing Artificial Intelligence at the Speed of Technology Innovation During the COVID-19 Era.” In AMIA 2021 Virtual Informatics Summit. American Medical Informatics Association Conference.
  4. Zoe L and Quintana Y. 3/22/2021. “Challenges to Global Standardization of Outcome Measures.” In AMIA 2021 Virtual Informatics Summit. American Medical Informatics Association
  5. Y. Anacak, E. Zubizarreta, M. Zaghloul, S. Laskar, J. Alert, S. Gondhowiardjo, A. Giselvania, R. Correa-Villar, F. Pedrosa, B. Dorj, S. Kamer, S.C. Howard, Y. Quintana, R.C. Ribeiro, E. Rosenblatt, K. Hopkins. The Practice of Paediatric Radiation Oncology in Low- and Middle-income Countries: Outcomes of an International Atomic Energy Agency Study. Clinical Oncology, Nov 26 2020.
  6. MADCaP Team. A Custom Genotyping Array Reveals Population-Level Heterogeneity for the Genetic Risks of Prostate Cancer and Other Cancers in Africa. Cancer Res. 2020 Jul 1;80(13):2956-2966.
  7. MADCaP Team. Development, Evaluation, and Implementation of a Pan-African Cancer Research Network: Men of African Descent and Carcinoma of the Prostate. J Glob Oncol. 2018 Sep;(4):1-14.  PubMed PMID: 30260755
  8. MADCaP Team. Effective Project Management of a Pan-African Cancer Research Network: Men of African Descent and Carcinoma of the Prostate MADCAP. J Glob Oncol. 2018 Sep;(4):1-12. doi: 10.1200/JGO.18.00062. PubMed PMID: 30260756
  9. Quintana Y, Safran C. Global Health Informatics—An Overview. In Heimar de Fátima Marin, Eduardo Massad, Marco Antonio Gutierrez, Roberto J. Rodrigues and Daniel Sigulem, editors: Marin-Global Health Informatics, Oxford: Academic Press, December 2016, pp. 1-13. DOI: 10.1016/B978-0-12-804591-6.00001-X , ISBN: 9780128046173
  10. Quintana, Y. Challenges to Implementation of Global Translational Collaboration Platforms. MOJ Proteomics Bioinform 2(6): 00065. Nov. 20, 2015. DOI: 10.15406/mojpb.2015.02.00065  PMCID: PMC4717481
  11. Quintana Y, Patel AN, Arreola M, Antillon FG, Ribeiro RC, Howard SC. POND4Kids: a global web-based database for pediatric hematology and oncology outcome evaluation and collaboration. Stud Health Technol Inform. 2013;183:251-6. PubMed PMID: 23388293.
  12. Quintana Y, Patel AN, Naidu PE, Howard SC, Antillon FA, Ribeiro RC. POND4Kids: a web-based pediatric cancer database for hospital-based cancer registration and clinical collaboration. Stud Health Technol Inform. 2011;164:227-31. PubMed PMID: 21335715.

Previous Work:

  1. Richardson, S., Banks, M.S., Kettinger, W., and Quintana, Y.  IT and Agility in the Social Enterprise: A Case Study of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital’s ‘Cure4Kids’ IT-Platform for International Outreach. Journal of the Association of Information Systems. 2014: 15(1), pp 1-32.   
  2. Santiago TC, Jenkins JJ, Pedrosa F, Billups C, Quintana Y, Ribeiro RC, Qaddoumi I. Improving the histopathologic diagnosis of pediatric malignancies in a low-resource setting by combining focused training and telepathology strategies. Pediatric Blood Cancer. 2012 Feb 7.
  3. AlFaar A, Kamal S, Abouelnaga S, Greene W, Quintana Y, Ribeiro R, Qaddoumi I. International Telepharmacy Education: Another Venue to Improve Cancer Care in the Developing World. Telemedicine and e-Health. 2012 Jul-Aug;18(6):470-4.
  4. May D, Quintana Y, Chantada G, Ribeiro R. Developing Oncopedia: Creating and Editing an Online Collaborative Educational Resource for a Global Audience, Science Editor, Council of Science Editor, May – June 2009, Vol 32, No 3, pp. 75-77.