Accelerating cancer research through data standardisation

Join us for an educational webinar that explores our strategic interest in implementing the OMOP Common Data Model (CDM) across our research projects. This session will introduce the concept of OMOP CDM, its relevance to cancer research and how it can transform the way researchers access, analyse and share health data. 

The OMOP CDM, developed by the Observational Health Data Sciences and Informatics (OHDSI) community, is a standardised data framework that enables consistent representation of diverse healthcare datasets. By harmonising data formats and vocabularies, OMOP facilitates large-scale, reproducible research and cross-institutional collaboration—especially vital in oncology, where data fragmentation often limits progress. 

The webinar will begin with an introduction by Prof Mieke Van Hemelrijck (King’s College London), who will present the current demonstration project of Cancer Research UK’s Data Community Support Unit on data standardisation and data sharing. We will then hear from Christian Reich (OHDSI), who will provide insights into the development and global adoption of OMOP CDM. Finally, Alex Knight and Prof Geoff Hall from Health Data Research UK (HDR UK) will share practical examples of OMOP implementation in the UK, with a focus on oncology. 

This session is ideal for researchers, data scientists and clinicians interested in improving data interoperability and accelerating cancer research through standardised, secure data practices.