Abstract 1666: Developing healthcare data scientists using Veterans Health Administration (VHA) data resources: The NCI/VA Big Data Scientist Training Enhancement Program (BD-STEP)

Due to advances in molecular profiling and medical imaging and the increased adoption of electronic health records (EHRs), the growth in oncology-related data has surpassed the development of a workforce capable of analyzing these data. This marks a missed opportunity in cancer research to gain insights toward better prediction of disease risk and therapeutic response. The Big Data Scientist Training Enhancement Program (BD-STEP), jointly managed by the National Cancer Institute and the Veterans Health Administration, addresses this gap by training the next generation of healthcare data scientists using the VA’s healthcare data infrastructure. Post-doctoral fellows from science and engineering backgrounds are paired with VA medical centers across the country, where they are immersed in the clinical environment as they pursue high-impact clinical research questions through data science. They enrich their data science skills using VA data resources, including clinical data from the VA healthcare system, genomic data from the Million Veterans Program (MVP), and treatment and diagnosis data from the VA Central Cancer Registry. Prospective fellows, data science experts, and healthcare researchers are encouraged to learn more about the program, its training opportunities, and existing projects using VA healthcare data.

Citation Format: Sarah G. Elder, Michelle Berny-Lang. Developing healthcare data scientists using Veterans Health Administration (VHA) data resources: The NCI/VA Big Data Scientist Training Enhancement Program (BD-STEP) [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2019; 2019 Mar 29-Apr 3; Atlanta, GA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2019;79(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 1666.