9
Sphere 33
Capturing the full potential of big data in
the complex field of medical sciences sets the background for
the li Ka Shing foundation’s gbp20 million (about uSd30.5
million) donation to create the li Ka Shing Centre for health
information and discovery at oxford university in the uK,
with its first phase officially launched in early May 2013, as part
of a gbp90 million initiative. The Centre will create a focus
for the emerging field of analysing big data to medical science
research in the uK, helping to transform understanding about
disease, treatment of patients, monitoring disease prevalence
and management of healthcare systems. it will also provide
commercial and academic opportunities to drive research in the
uK and globally.
in modern society, very large sets of medical data are
often collected anonymously through patient records, dna
sequencing, clinical trials and other national registries. The
Centre will pioneer new analytical techniques – also called
supercomputing – that will provide powerful new insights into
who develops illnesses and why, opening all sorts of possibilities
for medical treatment.
“
big data will transform the way we treat patients and
understand disease in the coming decades,” said andrew
hamilton, Vice-Chancellor at oxford, at the launch ceremony
for the Centre. “We have collected much of this data already.
We owe it to ourselves to make full use of it and deliver more
effective treatments for all of us as patients. The li Ka Shing
Centre, and this enormously generous gift which underpins it,
along with continued public investment, will be instrumental in
driving this research forward.”
Building a World-Class Research Facility
The Centre is being developed in two phases and will house up to
600
scientists when complete. The uK’s national health Service
will provide a rich pool of data for the scientists to analyse.
UK Prime Minister, David Cameron,
speaks at the launch stressing
that breakthroughs are needed in
medicine, explaining “it is vital for
the UK to compete and thrive in
global science”.
“
What will happen here is more than the
promise of harnessing the power of a
data-intensive revolution
to improve
healthcare
.
It will free up resources for
much needed investments in
educational opportunities
and will lead
to
new and deeper competencies
that are
pragmatic, precise solutions to sustain
hope and stability today and lead to even
greater discoveries tomorrow.
”
-
Li Ka-shing
