From 1 June 2024, Katrin Crameri will leave the directorship of SIB’s Personalized Health Informatics group, which currently leads the SPHN – Data Coordination Centre activities (DCC). While SIB is launching a recruitment process for a new Group Leader, Thomas Geiger, SPHN Managing Director, will assume ad interim the responsibility for the Personalized Health Informatics group. After five years at SIB with the mandate to steer and develop the activities of the DCC, Katrin Crameri will co-head the DigiSanté programme of the Federal Department of Home Affairs and the Digital Transformation Division of the Federal Office of Public Health.
About the DigiSanté programme
DigiSanté promotes digital transformation in the healthcare sector. It is being developed on behalf of the Federal Council and will be formulated by the Federal Office of Public Health and the Federal Statistical Office. Its goal is to be able to seamlessly exchange data on a national scale for treatment, billing, research and administration, while guaranteeing data protection, informational self-determination and cyber security.
Breaking new ground in building the Swiss health research data ecosystem
Katrin joined SIB in 2019 as Director of the Personalized Health Informatics group and has since then concentrated her energy in growing the portfolio of services of the SPHN Data Coordination Centre. From the efficient FAIRification of health data provided by Swiss hospitals to a Federated Query System for feasibility assessment on data from over 640’000 patients, Katrin’s lead yielded goal-oriented solutions, making Switzerland a pioneer in collaborative research with sensitive data.
About the DigiSanté programme
DigiSanté promotes digital transformation in the healthcare sector. It is being developed on behalf of the Federal Council and will be formulated by the Federal Office of Public Health and the Federal Statistical Office. Its goal is to be able to seamlessly exchange data on a national scale for treatment, billing, research and administration, while guaranteeing data protection, informational self-determination and cyber security.
She also supervised the creation of the BioMedIT network: Switzerland’s trusted research environment, as well as the establishment of a legal and ethical helpdesk intended to directly assist researchers using sensitive health data in multi-site, collaborative projects.
Katrin's tireless enthusiasm, resilience and energy have led the DCC team to constantly innovate in building the Swiss health research data ecosystem.
SIB’s Board of Directors extends its most heartfelt congratulations to Katrin, thanking her for all she accomplished and wishing her all the best for this new exciting chapter of her professional life.
About the SPHN initiative
- The SPHN initiative has begun in 2017 and will end in 2024 after two financing periods.
- For the financing period 2025-2028, the ERI Dispatch proposes to continue supporting the SPHN-Data Coordination Centre, i.e. the tasks done at SAMS, at SIB, at the university hospitals, and the BioMedIT nodes, with CHF 20 million for four years. The SPHN-DCC will operate under the responsibility of SAMS.
- The "National Steering Board of SPHN” (NSB) is the decision-making body of the SPHN initiative 2017-2024. The new governance structure will be tailored to the mandate and future stakeholdership.
What to expect for the Data Coordination Centre
The ERI Dispatch 2025-2028 proposes to fund the SPHN-DCC for a further four years to consolidate its actions, including the development and delivery of services to researchers. The overall mandate and multi-stakeholder governance of the DCC will remain the responsibility of the Swiss Academy of Medical Sciences (SAMS). SIB will continue to participate in national and international efforts to facilitate the reusability of clinical and biomedical data in research. SAMS welcomes SIB’s commitment to continued collaboration and the opportunity to draw on SIB's technical expertise as well as its access to the Swiss bioinformatics community and the European life science infrastructure ELIXIR. SIB will recruit a new Group Leader for the Personalized Health Informatics group to continue the work in the area of sharing and reuse of medical data.
About the SPHN initiative
- The SPHN initiative has begun in 2017 and will end in 2024 after two financing periods.
- For the financing period 2025-2028, the ERI Dispatch proposes to continue supporting the SPHN-Data Coordination Centre, i.e. the tasks done at SAMS, at SIB, at the university hospitals, and the BioMedIT nodes, with CHF 20 million for four years. The SPHN-DCC will operate under the responsibility of SAMS.
- The "National Steering Board of SPHN” (NSB) is the decision-making body of the SPHN initiative 2017-2024. The new governance structure will be tailored to the mandate and future stakeholdership.
Thomas Geiger, Director of the SPHN Management Office since 2021, will take over the lead of the DCC ad interim, in addition to his current responsibilities, until a new Group Leader for the Personalized Health Informatics group is recruited. Thomas' comprehensive understanding of the activities across the initiative, his diplomatic skills and his good relationships with the DCC team members and network partners will ensure a smooth transition into the new funding phase of the future DCC. From January 2025, Thomas Geiger will take over the overall directorship of the SPHN-DCC and manage the unit in close collaboration with the new SIB Group Leader.
