Initial meeting

The goal of the initial meeting is to get to know your research field, especially with regard to questions in the areas of statistics, data science, AI & Co. This initial meeting is free of charge! The goal of the initial meeting is to create a basis for a joint decision as to whether and, if so, in what form a further collaboration makes sense. In order to make it easier for us to prepare for the initial meeting, we ask you to fill out the following short form and send it by e-mail to Georg Zimmermann: Contact Form Initial Meeting.

Cooperation concept

Ideally, we will come to the conclusion in the course of the initial meeting that a cooperation makes sense! In this case, we will jointly define the next steps and identify those areas where you need the support of the IDA Lab. Based on this content-related concept, we will jointly develop a funding plan (joint research proposals or resources from your institution). The range of cooperation possibilities is large, both in terms of content and organization - therefore, personal exchange is also very important in this preparatory phase of the cooperation!

Implementation

We have agreed on a concrete form of cooperation - then the joint research work can begin! We are also in close interaction with you in this phase, keep an eye on the predefined goals and time schedules, and eventually generate results that are useful and interesting both for you in application-oriented clinical research and for us from a methodological point of view!

At the Biostatistics and Big Medical Data team, we deal with application-oriented methodological issues at the pulse of current research and look forward to hearing from you! The team is part of the Intelligent Data Analytics Lab (IDA Lab) Salzburg, which is funded by the state of Salzburg within the framework of WISS 2025 (20204-WISS/225/197-2019 and 20102-F1901166-KZP) which serves as a knowledge and research hub on the topics of statistics, Big Data and Artificial Intelligence in Salzburg. The goal of our work in the Biostatistics and Big Medical Data team is to carry out joint research projects, whereby we can also involve other local partners (PLUS, FH Salzburg, Salzburg Research) and/or from our international network, depending on the specific topic. For more information, please visit the website of the IDA Lab Salzburg .

The "Team Biostatistics & Big Medical Data" bundles know-how from statistics and data science in the areas of clinical and preclinical study design, intelligent data analysis and Big Medical Data. It fosters data-driven biostatistical consulting and research, the development of healthcare products and services, as well as the methodologically sound implementation of evidence-based medicine, personalized medicine, and pharmacy. Is this information too general for you? Then, please find some more information about topics that are potentially interesting for us here - or bring in your own ideas by contacting us!

Our guiding principle is not to work on abstract topics of mathematical statistics, but to conduct research together with you on problems that require a deeper methodological understanding, but ultimately have a direct relation to your clinical (research) practice! Accordingly, application-oriented methodological projects with the Paracelsus Medical Private University Salzburg or the University Hospital Salzburg are to be promoted and fostered through the activity of the Biostatistics and Big Medical Data team, but also new collaborations on a national and international level are to be established.

Big Medical Data

In the medical field, there is a treasure trove of data (registries, devices, health apps, etc.) waiting to be mined - but of course in compliance with methodologically sound principles and "good statistical practice"!

Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence

The prediction of epileptic seizures or algorithm-based automated diagnostics / image processing are only two examples from a broad range of potential applications of frequently used machine learning methods (deep learning, random forest, support vector machines, etc.).

Systematic reviews / meta-analyses

Experience shows that such projects require extensive, methodologically sound support over a long period of time, which we are happy to offer based on our experience (e.g., Georg Zimmermann is a member of the Core Group Guideline Development in the European Reference Network EpiCare).

Special methodological challenges (e.g. small sample sizes)

Are you active in a research area where you are often confronted with specific methodological challenges and consequently want to build up specific statistical-methodological expertise? Then please contact us! We have already conducted several projects where we have been working on particular methodological problems that arose from medical datasets or clinical research questions (e.g. life expectancy comparisons, or methods for small sample sizes), but we are also open to new, exciting problems from your field of application!

Third-party funded projects:

• EBStatMax: State-of-the-art statistical design and analysis for maximal success with minimal patient burden in Epidermolysis bullosa trials. European Joint Programme on Rare Diseases, Lead: Univ.-Prof. Johann Bauer, University Clinic for Dermatology and Allergology Salzburg, further project partners: University of Leuven / Hasselt (BEL), University of Uppsala (SWE), January 2021 - December 2022
• Application potential of innovative methodological procedures for the extraction of medical research knowledge and evaluation with artificial intelligence. Central Innovation Program for SMEs (ZIM) of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, Lead: medicalvalues, October 2021 - January 2022
• AIDA-PATH: AI-based identification of "long COVID"-related diagnostic pathways. Innovation Express Call 2021, Lead: IDA Lab Salzburg/Paris Lodron University Salzburg (Christian Borgelt, Simon Hirländer), Project partners: Company partner medicalvalues (Karlsruhe, D), Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience (Paris Lodron University Salzburg, Univ. Prof. Florian Hutzler), November 2021 - October 2024
• Characterization of imaging abnormalities and determining of their prognostic value in patients with status epilepticus. FWF, Lead: PD Dr. Giorgi Kuchukhidze, University Department of Neurology, Christian Doppler Clinic Salzburg, Start January 2022.