Link to photos: http://at.sfu.ca/vqPSEj

Using big data to improve healthcare delivery, decision-making and outcomes is the target of a new research partnership between Simon Fraser University (SFU) and Pacific Blue Cross (PBC).  

The Pacific Blue Cross Health Informatics Lab, housed at SFU, will advance computational health research and provide a new venue for collaboration between industry and academia.

Professor Jian Pei, Canada Research Chair in Big Data Science, who runs the SFU Intelligent Data Engineering and Analytics Lab (IDEAL), will oversee research and training in the new partnership. The lab is expected to host several faculty members and up to 10 postdoctoral fellows and graduate students.

“This new lab provides SFU an unprecedented platform to support the training of graduate students as data scientists in the fast-growing field of health informatics,” says Pei. “Over the next three years, the lab will focus on creating data-inspired and technology-enabled business intelligence for the healthcare industry.”

Health informatics—tools for managing and delivering healthcare, including the collection, use and disclosure of information—lies at the intersection of healthcare delivery, computing science and information technology.  

The lab will bring together faculty members from several key disciplines at SFU, including data science, big data, statistics, health science, business administration, information visualization and communication, as well as security and privacy.

“It is appropriate that SFU, with its longstanding history of interdisciplinary research, is opening this space for researchers across the university to work together with Pacific Blue Cross experts to provide solutions to pressing informatics challenges,” said Joy Johnson, SFU vice-president, research.  “Industry-academic partnerships fuel SFU’s innovation strategy by providing a portal through which our researchers can contribute their talent, technology and transformative ideas.”

Pacific Blue Cross provides a wide range of health insurance benefits for 1.5 million British Columbians. It is investing $300,000 over three years to collaborate with leading researchers from SFU, to build the reputation of its existing Innovation Centre, and to enable the transfer of knowledge from SFU to PBC in the area of health informatics.  

“Our vision at Pacific Blue Cross is broader than a world class insurance provider, it is to improve health and well-being in British Columbia,” says Jan K. Grude, Pacific Blue Cross president and CEO.

“This new partnership is just one example of our goal of improved healthcare in creating a world-leading computational health research lab that focuses on the development of health informatics products and services. We are excited to lead the development of next-generation technology with SFU." 

SFU’s School of Computing Science has been ranked among the top 50 computer science departments in the world (2014 Academic Ranking of World Universities). Computing science faculty members have expertise in all areas of big data, from data mining and knowledge discovery algorithms to cloud computing and visual analytics. The lab will become an important venue for working on industry-relevant issues that have the potential to impact the community at large.

“This is a unique opportunity to conduct research beneficial to the broader community through access to massive population data sets and healthcare statistics,” said Uwe Glässer, dean pro tem, SFU’s Faculty of Applied Sciences.  “Pacific Blue Cross is an important health benefits provider in B.C. and the lab has the potential to deliver better healthcare to people in the province through greater understanding of population health issues.”

ABOUT PACIFIC BLUE CROSS:

Pacific Blue Cross has been British Columbia's leading health insurance and benefits provider for 75 years. Pacific Blue Cross’ comprehensive understanding of healthcare needs fuels their commitment to service. Together with our subsidiary, British Columbia Life & Casualty Company, we provide health, dental, life, disability and travel coverage for approximately 1.5 million British Columbians through employee group plans and through individual plans for those without group coverage. Pacific Blue Cross and BC Life & Casualty continue to meet customers' needs for innovation in plan design, administration and technology. www.pac.bluecross.ca

ABOUT SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY:

As Canada's engaged university, SFU is defined by its dynamic integration of innovative education, cutting-edge research and far-reaching community engagement. SFU was founded 50 years ago with a mission to be a different kind of university—to bring an interdisciplinary approach to learning, embrace bold initiatives, and engage with communities near and far. Today, SFU is Canada’s leading comprehensive research university and is ranked one of the top universities in the world. With campuses in British Columbia’s three largest cities – Vancouver, Burnaby and Surrey – SFU has eight faculties, delivers almost 150 programs to over 35,000 students, and boasts more than 130,000 alumni in 130 countries around the world.

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Simon Fraser University: Engaging Students. Engaging Research. Engaging Communities.