Thursday, October 23, 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM 

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Overview

This session will include an overview of the Enterprise Data Request Process for Research (Enterprise Data Request Process: Research | Scuba), the standard process utilized by Data Service Providers to fulfill requests for the extraction of de-identified, limited, and PHI data sets from UCSF Health clinical data sources. This process ensures that the requirements of UCSF and UC policies and state and federal laws are met for the granting of access to, release, and sharing of health data sets. An overview of the policies governing these areas will be provided.

We will also introduce the Federated Research Data Steward Program, a federated version of the Enterprise Data Request Process, launched in July 2025 to expand UCSF’s data extraction services for scientific research.  The program was designed to address the growing complexity and volume of research-related data requests by enabling analysts outside of UCSF IT, who already have privileged access to patient health data for quality improvement and operational purposes, to also support scientific research.

All analysts providing health system data for research are now required to enroll in the program.  The session will outline:

• Requirements for participation in the program.
• Departments currently participating as Federated Research Data Stewards.
• Researchers' due diligence tasks that must be completed before submitting a request to a Federated Research Data Steward.

This presentation will help both analysts and researchers understand their roles, responsibilities, and next steps for effectively and securely supporting scientific research through the program.

Speakers

Helena Mezgova, UCSF Sr. Data Compliance Specialist in Academic Research Services; Kim Romero, UCSF Associate Director of Process Management & Compliance in Academic Research Services; Jennifer Creasman, Clinical Informatics Manager Academic Research Services

Biographies

Helena Mezgova is a Senior Data Compliance Specialist of the IT EIA Data Compliance team. She joined UCSF in 2019 and currently supports the operations of the data compliance functions for teams to ensure data are managed, administered, released, and shared in accordance with security, privacy, and compliance policies and laws. She oversees the higher-risk data sharing review process by the Data Sharing Oversight Committee and is a subject matter expert in data sharing. She is trained as a bioethicist, with certification in healthcare privacy and security. 

Kim Romero works in the Enterprise Information & Analytics department in central IT and manages the team responsible for the data compliance and data sharing areas. Examples of initiatives that her team helps with are the review of higher-risk data sharing engagements by the IT Governance Committee on EIA, implementing and supporting data access models and processes, and defining and operationalizing data compliance and data sharing policies, guidance, and workflows. She has worked at UCSF since 2009, with the first 8 years focused on managing research data services and systems and the remainder focused on the data compliance and data sharing areas. Please reach out to her team with any questions that you may have about data access and release, data sharing, or data compliance matters.

Jennifer Creasman is an expert in data management, biostatistics, and clinical informatics with over 25 years of experience supporting research at UCSF. As Clinical Informatics Manager within UCSF IT Academic Research Services, Jennifer oversees the extraction of data from UCSF’s electronic medical records system for research purposes, ensuring compliance with institutional policies while facilitating high-impact research. Leading a team that has consulted on and fulfilled over 2,000 data extractions, Jennifer has expanded the scope of services by creating the Federated Research Data Steward program, also known as the FReDS Program. The FReDS Program is a federated research version of the Enterprise Data Request Process,  allowing people with privileged access to patient health data for quality improvement or operational purposes to also support scientific research.  Earlier in her career, she worked closely with residents, fellows, and faculty from UCSF and collaborating institutions, providing data management, statistical analysis, and interpretation to over 60 scientific peer-reviewed publications.  Most recently, Jennifer’s team has expanded its portfolio of offerings to include the acquisition and management of large datasets, such as Medicare and Medicaid data.