Our PhD Candidates Highlight Their Research Milestones in Formal Review
Last week, our PhD students Francesca Longhin, Giulia Cesaro, Isotta Trescato (3rd year), Mikele Milia (2nd year), and Sara Poletto (1st year) presented their research progress to a departmental commission. This formal step in their doctoral journey offered the entire group, as well as attendees, a valuable opportunity to reflect on the progress of our young researchers. It also provided a platform to share and discuss the diverse research directions currently being developed within our team, highlighting the breadth and depth of work being undertaken in our international projects.
Dei Cas D, Di Camillo B, Fadini GP, Sparacino G and Longato E. Effect of Clinical History on Predictive Model Performance for Renal Complications of Diabetes. In: Proc. 19th International Conference on Computational Intelligence methods for Bioinformatics and Biostatistics (CIBB) 2024.
Poletto S, Longato E, Tavazzi E, Vettoretti M. Comparing Propensity Score-Based Methods in Estimating the Treatment Effect: A Simulation Study. In: Proc. 19th International Conference on Computational Intelligence methods for Bioinformatics and Biostatistics (CIBB) 2024.
Highlights from IEEE EMBC 2024
From July 15th to 19th, 2024, our group participated in the 46th Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (EMBC) held in Orlando, Florida.
Our group was represented in the Health Informatics track with a poster presentation titled “Characterization of Chronic Kidney Disease Progression in Patients with Diabetes via Group-Based Multi-Trajectory Modeling”, authored by Alessandro Guazzo, Enrico Longato, Gian Paolo Fadini, Giovanni Sparacino, Rema Padman, and Barbara Di Camillo.
Additionally, our Principal Investigator, Prof. Barbara Di Camillo, was an organizer and speaker for two impactful mini-symposia.
The first mini-symposium, “Trustworthy AI in Medicine: Implications for Data, Algorithms and Systems,” took place on Wednesday, July 17th. This session addressed the critical issue of trustworthiness in AI systems used in clinical settings. The discussion covered various aspects, from data collection and preprocessing to algorithm reliability and explainability, drawing on practical examples from international projects such as the 4CE consortium and the BRAINTEASER project.
The second mini-symposium, “Fostering Equity in Science, Technology and Innovation: Insights and Best Practices in Co-Creating Policy Recommendations,” was held on Friday, July 19th. This session focused on promoting equity in these disciplines through collaborative policy-making. Experts from diverse backgrounds shared their experiences and best practices. The symposium provided valuable insights into the co-creation process, highlighting the importance of inclusivity and diversity in shaping effective policies.
We extend our gratitude to the organizers for making our participation in EMBC 2024 a fruitful experience, marked by engaging discussions and potential collaborations.
University of Padova Hosts Danish Medicines Agency for REDDIE Project Technical Meeting
On July 10-12, 2024, our group had the pleasure of hosting Dr. Tirdad Seifi Ala, our esteemed partner from the Danish Medicines Agency (Lægemiddelstyrelsen, DMA), for an in-depth technical meeting within the REDDIE project. This visit was a significant milestone in our ongoing collaboration and provided an excellent opportunity to delve into the details of the current activities in Work Package 5 (WP5), titled “Advanced Methodological Frameworks for Enhancing Clinical Trials with Real-World and Virtual Evidence.”
The WP5 is led by our research group under the supervision of Principal Investigator Dr. Martina Vettoretti, with active involvement from both UNIPD and DMA. During the meeting, we had the opportunity to discuss some of the latest methodologies developed by our team, focusing on predictive models for the progression of chronic diseases and the conduction of retrospective observational studies.
The discussions were highly productive and insightful. Dr. Seifi Ala provided valuable feedback and shared his expertise, which helped refine our approaches and identify new avenues for future research. The collaborative atmosphere facilitated a deeper understanding of the challenges and opportunities in leveraging real-world evidence to enhance clinical trials.
As our partnership with DMA continues to strengthen, we are excited about the potential to contribute significantly to the use of real-world evidence for complementing randomized controlled trials. Our joint efforts aim to improve the efficacy, safety, and cost-effectiveness of technologies designed to prevent and treat diabetes, ultimately benefiting patients and healthcare systems alike.
We look forward to continuing this fruitful collaboration and are eager to see the impact of our combined contributions to the REDDIE project.
REDDIE Technical Meeting between UNIPD and NOH on Diabetes Outcome Analysis
On July 3-4, 2024, our group hosted a productive technical meeting between UNIPD and NOH in the context of the REDDIE project. This significant event was focused on exploring collaborative opportunities and discussing the utilisation of data from Danmarks Statistik.
The meeting brought together key researchers from both institutions, who engaged in in-depth discussions on the methodologies for analysing diabetes outcomes using real-world data. The exchange of ideas and expertise was stimulating, as participants identified numerous points of contact and potential synergies.
Throughout the two days, the researchers delved into various aspects of diabetes research, emphasising the importance of leveraging real-world data to enhance the understanding of diabetes outcomes. The discussions underscored the potential benefits of integrating diverse datasets and employing advanced analytical techniques to improve research quality and impact. The event concluded with a shared vision of developing innovative solutions and methodologies that will ultimately benefit patients and healthcare providers.
This meeting marks a promising step forward in the collaboration between our group and NOH. The partners expressed enthusiasm about the future possibilities and are committed to continuing their joint efforts to advance diabetes research.
Gottardelli B, Gatta R, Nucciarelli L, Tudor AM, Tavazzi E, Orini S, Vallati M, Di Giorgi N, Damiani A. GEN-RWD Sandbox: Bridging the Gap Between Hospital Data Privacy and External Research Insights with Distributed Analytics. BMC Med Inform Decis Mak 2024
Meeting Between Information Engineering and Women’s and Children’s Health Departments
Yesterday, June 4, 2024, a meeting took place between the Department of Information Engineering and the Department of Women’s and Children’s Health at the University of Padova. The objective of this meeting was to present our respective research areas and explore potential synergies and points of collaboration.
Our researchers, Martina Vettoretti and Giacomo Baruzzo, showcased the research directions of our group, highlighting ongoing projects and key topics. Their presentations were well-received and sparked a lively discussion, with numerous insightful questions from attendees.
This productive meeting demonstrated a strong interest in potential collaborations between the two departments. We are optimistic that this initial exchange will lead to fruitful cooperative opportunities in the near future.
