What is OPEN?

OPEN is a research infrastructure, biobank and research unit. OPEN plays an important role in Odense University Hospital’s (OUH) research strategy and has been implemented in close collaboration with the Department of Clinical Research at University of Southern Denmark (SDU).

Who can use OPEN?

OPEN accepts research projects stretching from pre-graduate research year studies to large international multicenter studies. The only requirement is that the study must lead to publications. All OPEN’s projects can be found at OPEN – Open Patient data Explorative Network (open.rsyd.dk), where you may also find the application form.

OPEN’s organisation

OPEN is established as a network between OUH and SDU along with OPEN’s own staff. OPEN is headed by a steering committee of thirteen individuals representing the different hospital units in the region, Department of Clinical Research SDU, Department of Regional Research. Chairman: Kim Brixen, Director, OUH Vice chairman: Kirsten Ohm Kyvik, Head of Institute, Dep. Of Clinical Research, SDU Head of OPEN: Anna Skat Nielsen.

What is OPEN's mission?

OPEN mission is to increase and strengthen clinical research in the Region of Southern Denmark. OPEN helps scientists to initiate clinical trials making it easier to collect and store biological samples and clinical data. Moreover, OPEN facilitates registry-based research on the cohorts.

OPEN’s vision

Clinical research is essential for medical progress and for the Region of Southern Denmark as a provider of highly specialized care. Clinical research is very time consuming and expensive. It is not uncommon that an individual research project spans several years and costs several million euro. Traditionally, clinical research is often initiated by a single research group and the study is usually designed to answer precisely the questions that the research group is interested in. The novelty of OPEN is to invite other research groups to join the project in the initial phase or later and in this way to enrich the cohort by asking other scientific questions than those initially thought of. This may often be achieved simply by adding a few extra tests to the protocol, and thus increasing the scientific value of the cohort significantly without costing much. Also, OPEN adds value to research by facilitating register-based data supplement to the cohorts. Furthermore, OPEN offers advice to researchers at all stages of the research process and supports linkage of external register data, studies based on questionnaires and offers to randomize human subjects. Via the Internet, OPEN invites researchers from around the world to collaborate with researchers at the hospitals of the Region of Southern Denmark, OUH and SDU managing individual cohorts. Transparency is the central value-adding factor in the OPEN philosophy and this is why the English acronym is: OPEN. Thereby, the visions of OPEN are:

OPEN offers precisely the support needed for the researcher to succeed with his/her project OPEN facilitates research with a minimum of bureaucracy OPEN promotes research by making research visible OPEN performs and facilitates registry-based research and build register-based resources

Want to know more!

You may read much more of OPENs facilities within IT and our advice function for researchers at our website OPEN – Open Patient data Explorative Network (open.rsyd.dk). Here you may also find information about our research unit.