Leadership for Cancer Informatics Research (Coursera)

Target audience:

The course is intended for researchers who lead research teams or collaborate with others to perform multidisciplinary work. We have especially aimed the material for those with moderate to no computational experience who may lead or collaborate with informatics experts. However this material is also applicable to informatics experts working with others who have less computational experience.

Curriculum:

We will provide you with an awareness for the specific challenges that your informatics collaborators, employees, and mentees might face, as well as ways to mitigate these challenges. By creating a better work environment for your informatics research team, you will ultimately improve the potential impact of your work.

We will also discuss the major pitfalls of informatics research and discuss best practices for performing informatics research correctly and well, so that you can get the most out of your informatics projects.

This course is part of a series of courses for the Informatics Technology for Cancer Research (ITCR) called the Informatics Technology for Cancer Research Education Resource. This material was created by the ITCR Training Network (ITN) which is a collaborative effort of researchers around the United States to support cancer informatics and data science training through resources, technology, and events. This initiative is funded by the following grant: National Cancer Institute (NCI) UE5 CA254170. Our courses feature tools developed by ITCR Investigators and make it easier for principal investigators, scientists, and analysts to integrate cancer informatics into their workflows.

What You Will Learn

- Management practices to support a multidisciplinary informatics research team

- Strategies to promote diversity, inclusion, and equity in academia, clinical trials, and research - particularly cancer research

- Tools and methods to perform informatics work well with a multidisciplinary team

Syllabus

WEEK 1

Welcome

In this module we will introduce you to how the material will be presented and the goals for the course.

Guidelines for multidisciplinary informatics teams

In this module we will discuss general strategies for working with multidisciplinary informatics teams, including collaboration tips, communication practices, record keeping strategies, and ways to advocate for your team members.

WEEK 2

Informatics project guidelines

In this module we will discuss how to form good informatics questions, as well as ways to plan projects to avoid and mitigate common informatics project pitfalls.

Informatics relationships

In this module we will discuss specific ways in which you can support your multidisciplinary team members. We will cover collaboration techniques, employment strategies, and mentorship methods.

WEEK 3

Promoting diversity, inclusion, and equity

In this portion of the course we will discuss ways to promote the inclusion of underrepresented groups in cancer informatics research. We will focus on clinical trial strategies, research practices, and lab management methods.

WEEK 4

Informatics lab management tools

In this module we will cover a variety of tools that can help you perform informatics work and manage your research team.