Nick Medrano, MS

Ashley Moreno, MS

CNTR is pleased to announce that our outstanding research associates–Nick Medrano and Ashley Moreno–won competitive stipends to participate in the AIM-AHEAD FHIR (Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources) Collaborative Training Program, starting this month. The purpose of the five-month program is to train a multidisciplinary cohort of individuals from academia, industry, healthcare organizations and community-based organizations in accelerating and sustaining FHIR adoption across various healthcare and research settings.

FHIR is a web-based standard for exchanging electronic health information. It acts as a universal language for healthcare that can be used to:

• Share patient health information among various IT systems
• Enable patients to access their own health information
• Facilitate research and data sharing

This training program will enable Nick and Ashley to better serve the trauma research community as we launch new resources. Serving as the operations manager of the National Trauma Research Repository (NTRR), Nick’s mastery of FHIR gained through the program’s more technical Track 2 will accelerate the data submission process. The Biomedical Research Informatics Computing System (BRICS) on which the NTRR is built employs a FHIR mapping tool that converts FHIR resources to BRICS-formatted data elements and form structures. Nick will be able to  quickly ensure compatibility between the clinical research data submitted by investigators and FHIR profiles, enabling the seamless integration of clinical data into the BRICS/NTRR system.

Often playing the role of liaison among researchers, clinicians, and technical partners, Ashley will complete the program’s Track 1, which confers an understanding of how FHIR can accelerate health data access and use. She’ll be able to apply these principles to repository development, AI-aided clinical guidance, and multi-institutional collaboration. In particular, this knowledge will be invaluable as Ashley continues work on the 2025 Gates Foundation-funded project to develop resource-stratified clinical guidance to improve bedside patient care.