Preparing electronic health record (EHR) data for research is often the most time-consuming part of a project. Data may be distributed across multiple linked datasets, recorded using different coding systems, and require extensive cleaning, harmonisation, and quality assurance before meaningful analysis can begin.
The BHF Data Science Centre provides data curation and engineering services that help researchers move from raw health data to research-ready datasets more efficiently, consistently, and reproducibly.
Our team combines technical expertise, reusable pipelines, and experience working across UK Trusted Research Environments (TREs) to support high-quality cardiovascular research.
How we can help
Project feasibility and data discovery
We can help you understand:
- what datasets are available
- how they are structured
- what linkage opportunities exist
- whether the data are suitable for your research question
- what level of completeness and coverage may be expected
This support is particularly valuable during study design, grant development, and early feasibility assessment.
Data curation and harmonisation
We support the preparation of research-ready datasets through:
- data exploration and profiling
- cleaning and transformation
- harmonisation across multiple data sources
- derivation of consistent variables,
- implementation of computable phenotypes and codelists
- creation of cohorts, exposures, outcomes, and covariates
- quality assurance and validation
Our goal is to create datasets that are fit for purpose, well documented, and reproducible.
Reproducible pipeline development
We develop version-controlled data curation pipelines that provide structured, repeatable workflows for transforming raw data into research-ready outputs.
A typical pipeline may include:
- ingestion of source datasets
- standardised data transformations
- cohort definition
- variable derivation
- phenotype application
- validation and quality checks
- generation of analysis-ready tables
Where possible, pipelines are designed to be reusable across projects, reducing duplication of effort and improving consistency between studies.
Working across UK Trusted Research Environments
Many cardiovascular research projects operate across multiple secure environments and nations. Our team has experience working across:
- NHS England Secure Data Environment (SDE)
- SAIL Databank (Wales)
- National Data Safe Haven (Scotland)
- UK Clinical Cohorts Trusted Research Environment (UK CliC TRE)
- other national, regional, cohort, and disease-specific research platforms
Experience with a broad range of data types
We work with a broad range of data types, including:
- primary care records
- hospital admissions
- outpatient and emergency care data
- mortality records
- prescribing and dispensing data
- disease registries and audits
- consented cohort data
- imaging metadata
Our approach is to keep pipelines as consistent as possible across environments, while adapting to differences in underlying datasets and governance requirements.
Research acceleration in practice
Our team has supported projects ranging from researchers accessing EHR data for the first time to large multi-nation studies involving linked datasets across England, Scotland, and Wales.
Through reusable pipelines, curated assets, and engineering support, we have helped teams to:
- reduce project setup time
- improve data completeness and consistency of research data through linkage and harmonisation
- standardise variable derivation across studies
- support reproducible analyses across multiple TREs
- accelerate delivery of research findings
Examples of research enabled through these approaches are available in our Impact section.
Our approach
Reproducibility
Methods, code, and processing decisions are documented and version controlled to support transparent and repeatable research.
Reusability
Solutions are designed so that they can be adapted and reused across projects wherever possible, reducing duplication and increasing efficiency.
Collaboration
We work closely with researchers, clinicians, data custodians, and programme teams to ensure that curated datasets and pipelines are aligned to research needs and are practical to use within secure environments.
Need support?
If you are planning a new cardiovascular research project or would like to discuss data preparation requirements, please contact our team for advice and support.
Request support