🎉🎓 I DEFENDED MY PHDS! 🎓🎉

It’s official! I am overjoyed to share that I have successfully defended not one but two PhDs (Dr²) with a thesis titled:
From Centralized to Federated: The Journey of Data in Healthcare 🏥📊✨

📜 A Huge Shoutout to My Supervisors!

This milestone wouldn’t have been possible without the incredible support and guidance from my supervisors and co-supervisors:

Yves Moreau (Supervisor)
Liesbet M. Peeters (Supervisor)
Niels Hellings (Co-supervisor)

Thank you for believing in my vision and pushing me to excel. Your mentorship has been invaluable! 🙏✨

🧐 What’s It All About?

Real-world data (RWD) in healthcare is like buried treasure—it holds immense potential 🌟 but comes with layers of challenges, such as:

🧩 Fragmented data scattered across healthcare systems
🔒 Strict privacy and legal regulations that restrict sharing
❌ The struggle to make data Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable (FAIR)
🚧 Limitations of existing tools, which are often too narrow, not inclusive, or fail to meet the end-to-end needs of stakeholders. These tools frequently lack the flexibility and comprehensiveness required to address real-world challenges effectively, leaving critical gaps in inclusivity and applicability.

These issues become even more pronounced in conditions like Multiple Sclerosis (MS), where:

The disease’s low prevalence means data is dispersed across the globe 📂
Differences in data formats, quality standards, and guidelines create significant barriers 🚧

💡 What Did My Research Do?

My research tackled these challenges by moving beyond the binary debate of centralized vs. federated data analysis. Instead, I advocated for a spectrum of approaches, introducing the concept of a degree of federation. This approach recognizes that different scenarios demand varying levels of centralization and federation, allowing for more flexible and adaptive solutions. 🌐⚖️

At the heart of this work is the principle of a hybrid data management pipeline, a way of thinking that blends the strengths of centralized and federated methodologies. It’s about getting the best of both worlds—leveraging the power of centralized systems to unify insights while preserving the privacy and autonomy offered by federated approaches. 🌐⚖️

This hybrid mindset bridges the gap between fragmented data sources and actionable insights, enabling collaboration without compromising trust. It recognizes that no one-size-fits-all solution exists, but by adapting to specific needs, we can address real-world challenges more effectively. 🔐✅

But that’s not all—let’s dive into the hybrid data management pipeline, a centerpiece of my work:

🏗️ Three Pillars of My Work

1️⃣ Hybrid Data Management Pipeline

Integrated diverse and fragmented data sources into a cohesive framework 📂📊
Successfully implemented in the Global Data Sharing Initiative for COVID-19 and MS 🌍
Resulted in assembling one of the largest-ever cohorts of MS and COVID-19 data! 🏆

This pipeline bridged the gap between data silos and actionable insights, laying the foundation for future federated analysis efforts.

2️⃣ Federated Learning For Everyone (FL4E) Framework

Empowered stakeholders to harness RWD through adaptable federated analysis tools 🤝
Introduced the concept of a ‘degree of federation’, providing flexibility between centralization and decentralization ⚖️

3️⃣ Federated Analysis in MS Research

Leveraged routine clinical data to predict disability progression in MS 🧠💡
Proposed novel techniques to enhance federation performance 🚀
Demonstrated that federated analysis is a robust alternative to centralized methods, paving the way for scalable privacy-aware solutions. ✅

🌟 Why It Matters

This work isn’t just about tackling technical hurdles—it’s about reshaping the way we approach data in healthcare. By addressing critical gaps, federated analysis can enable:

Inclusive and privacy-aware technologies that foster trust 💻💙
Global collaboration, unlocking insights that benefit patients worldwide 🌎
Improved outcomes for individuals battling complex and rare diseases 👩‍⚕️👨‍⚕️

🎉 Thank You!
To my supervisors, collaborators, and everyone who supported me throughout this journey—you made this possible, and I couldn’t have done it without you. 🙏💖

Here’s to the next chapter of advancing healthcare through technology! 🚀✨