The Population Health Data Warehouse
As a research pillar of Lehigh University’s College of Health, the Population Health Data (PHD) Warehouse will serve as an invaluable resource for faculty and students engaged in population health research. The PHD Warehouse will be a constellation of curated data resources ranging from restricted government data in secure computing facilities to large, linked, open public data resources to a biospecimen repository.
The PHD Warehouse will include data, from cell to society, that will allow investigators to develop key insights into the determinants of health and develop innovative solutions to benefit the health of the population. The PHD Warehouse will also support faculty from the university’s other four colleges, students and partners engaged in research that aligns with the College of Health’s mission.
Through partnerships with entities in industry, government, nonprofits and academia in the worlds of health and health care, the College will build a substantial repository of data and then curate the data to make it useful and accessible for research.
Biospecimen Repository
Modern techniques in molecular biology, including -omic analyses, have opened new avenues for examining the cellular and molecular determinants of health. The Biospecimen Repository of the PHD Warehouse will add key capabilities to the College of Health for human biospecimen collection and processing, and subsequent storage and analysis of biological markers. The HST building will incorporate a tissue processing laboratory and freezer room for mechanical and liquid nitrogen freezers to accommodate scalable collection of biospecimens for population health research. The biospecimen repository will be a key resource to support the cohort studies and the implementation of analyzing multiple integrated -omic assays combined with self-reported and electronically ascertained health information (claims and electronic health records).
The Artificial Intelligence and Data Visualization Laboratory
The Artificial Intelligence and Data Visualization Laboratory (AI/DV) will occupy 700+ square feet in the HST building. In support of the research and teaching missions of the College of Health, the Artificial Intelligence and Data Visualization Lab will showcase technologies for faculty and student researchers and their external partners. As technology advances, the AI/DV lab will develop training and consulting services to disseminate information about new tools, support integration of new technologies into coursework and facilitate partnerships that link faculty and students with external resources for new and useful tools.
Virtual Reality Lab
Survey Research Laboratory
The HST building will include purpose-built space for a Survey Research Laboratory. This critical facility will fuel primary data collection from focus groups, face-to-face technology-assisted interviews and remote data collection via telephone or internet conferencing. These resources will serve faculty, students and project staff for rigorous qualitative, mixed-methods and quantitative survey-based data collection. Combined with Lehigh’s expertise in methods for creating and validating survey instruments, the Survey Research Laboratory will position the College of Health to develop and deploy essential data collection tools.
Design Thinking Laboratory
To foster the spirit of convergence and help move health innovation and technology insight to impact, the HST building will incorporate a Design Thinking laboratory. The space will support and inspire transdisciplinary interactions among Lehigh faculty, students, stakeholders and external partners for design thinking processes and creative problem solving.
Community Partnership Engagement Space
The HST building will have dedicated community space to allow community partners and members to interact with faculty, students, staff and partners. The grounds of the HST building will support community gardens as a way to bring fresh produce to local residents. Additionally, the College of Health will host a Community Health Summit to convene local organizations, partners, faculty, students and key stakeholders in critical discussions about improving the health of people living in the Lehigh Valley.
Open Plan Wet and Dry Lab Space
Flexible, open laboratories accommodate immediate expansion and contraction of research groups with minimal disruption. The open lab zones are comprising wet programs for chemistry and chemical engineering; damp labs for life science research; and dry zones for prototyping and fabrication. The lab zones are situated adjacent to the computational research labs within the building’s open office work area.
Watch Our Progress
Follow along on our live webcam as Lehigh continues work on the future home of the College of Health.
