Objective: What are the determining factors for good research in medical informatics or, from a broader perspective, in biomedical and health informatics?
Method: From the many lessons learned during my professional career, I tried to identify a fair sampling of such factors. On the occasion of giving the IMIA Award of Excellence lecture during MedInfo 2013, they were presented for discussion.
Results: Sixteen determining factors (df) have been identified: early identification and promotion (df1), appropriate education (df2), stimulating persons and environments (df3), sufficient time and backtracking opportunities (df4), breadth of medical informatics competencies (df5), considering the necessary preconditions for good medical informatics research (df6), easy access to high-quality knowledge (df7), sufficient scientific career opportunities (df8), appropriate conditions for sustainable research (df9), ability to communicate and to solve problems (df10), as well as to convey research results (df11) in a highly inter- and multidisciplinary environment, ability to think for all and, when needed, taking the lead (df12), always staying unbiased (df13), always keeping doubt (df14), but also always trying to provide solutions (df15), and, finally, being aware that life is more (df16).
Conclusions: Medical Informatics is an inter- and multidisciplinary discipline "avant la lettre". Compared to monodisciplinary research, inter- and multidisciplinary research does not only provide significant opportunities for solving major problems in science and in society. It also faces considerable additional challenges for medical informatics as a scientific field. The determining factors, presented here, are in my opinion crucial for conducting successful research and for developing a research career. Since medical informatics as a field has today become an important driving force for research progress, especially in biomedicine and health care, but also in fields like computer science, it may be helpful to consider such factors in relation with research and education in our discipline.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.15265/IY-2014-0025 | DOI Listing |
BMC Cancer
January 2025
Department of Radiation Oncology, First Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University, 295 Xichang Road, Kunming, 650032, P. R. China.
Introduction: The core objective of this study was to precisely locate metastatic lymph nodes, identify potential areas in nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients that may not require radiotherapy, and propose a hypothesis for reduced target volume radiotherapy on the basis of these findings. Ultimately, we reassessed the differences in dosimetry of organs at risk (OARs) between reduced target volume (reduced CTV2) radiotherapy and standard radiotherapy.
Methods And Materials: A total of 209 patients participated in the study.
Sci Rep
January 2025
Department of Ophthalmology, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, No.37, Guoxue Xiang, Chengdu, 610041, Sichuan, China.
The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) combined with periorbital triamcinolone acetonide injection in treating thyroid eye disease (TED) patients with active extraocular muscle but low CAS. The retrospective observational study was conducted. A total of 156 eligible patients were selected from the TED patient database of the Ophthalmology Department of West China Hospital of Sichuan University.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMetabolomics
January 2025
Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Informatics, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
Background: Gestational exposure to non-persistent endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) may be associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes. While many EDCs affect the endocrine system, their effects on endocrine-related metabolic pathways remain unclear. This study aims to explore the global metabolome changes associated with EDC biomarkers at delivery.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSci Rep
January 2025
School of Public Health, Karaganda Medical University, Karaganda, 100008, Kazakhstan.
Comprehensive examinations of health literacy (HL) among students in Kazakhstan are lacking. The existing literature from adult populations in Kazakhstan suggests associations between higher HL and socioeconomic and demographic factors. The HLS19-Q12 tool was used in this study to assess the HL level of 3230 students with various backgrounds.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: This study aimed to assess the posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) angle in anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) deficient knees and correlate it with anatomical and demographic factors such as tibial slope, anterior tibial translation, age, gender, and time of injury.
Material And Methods: Patients were eligible for inclusion if they were clinically diagnosed with an ACL tear confirmed by MRI. For each patient, the following parameters were evaluated: PCL angle (PCLA), medial tibial slope (MTS), lateral tibial slope (LTS), medial anterior tibial translation (MATT), and lateral anterior tibial translation (LATT).
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