From Idea to Impact: Your Partner in Clinical Research That Matters
Medical Data Science focuses on making medical data useful by combining descriptive analysis, machine learning, and statistics, supported by expertise in programming, data handling, statistical reasoning, and medicine.
The Medical Data Science Unit supports clinical researchers in integrating unstructured data, synthesizing evidence for study planning, contributing to efficient trial design, and developing a tool that combines unstructured data and systematic reviews to inform clinical decision-making.
In 2025, the Department of Clinical Research (DCR) established a Medical Data Science (MDS) Unit, led by Prof. Benjamin Ineichen, tackling an array of topics,
e.g. drug development from animal studies to human use.
Drug development from animal studies to human use and regulatory approval is often inefficient. Promising findings in animal studies don’t always translate to success in humans, and the factors that determine whether a drug ultimately gains regulatory approval remain poorly understood.
PhD student Simona Doneva is tackling this challenge. She has developed an AI-powered platform, leveraging large language models, to systematically mine and connect evidence from preclinical animal studies to clinical trials, with a particular focus on neuroscience. By mapping these links, her work lays the groundwork for uncovering patterns that distinguish drugs likely to fail from those poised for regulatory success.