Building The CAMO-Net GDR Foundation Through Collaborative Offsite Learning
By Henry Mutegeki, GDR Information Manager
I recently had the opportunity to spend a month at the University of Liverpool, refining the blueprint for the CAMO-Net Global Data Resource (GDR). My mission was to refine the requirements needed for building a platform that can securely manage pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic (PK/PD) and clinical data from diverse global hubs, including Uganda, India, and the UK whilst learning from existing TREs. Although I arrived with ambitious architectural plans, I soon discovered how face-to-face discussions, legal reviews, and hands-on technical sessions could breathe life into what might otherwise remain abstract diagrams.
One of the first things I noticed upon arriving in Liverpool was how warmly & readily different teams welcomed me into their workspaces & workflows. The University’s I.T. Department offered an in-depth view of their infrastructure, server configurations and load-balancing strategies, giving me insights to ensure that the GDR could withstand the large datasets typical of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) research. Meanwhile, the CAMO-Net Liverpool group showed me how inhouse researchers actually curated & put AMR data to use, emphasizing the real-world need for user-friendly interfaces that allow them to focus on cutting-edge analysis rather than fiddling with system configurations. Alongside these interactions, I spent many hours & days interacting with bioinformatics specialists like Dr. Yu Wan from Liverpool’s Therapeutics division and the data scientists from the AMR-X team led by Dr. Alex Howard. Our lively discussions often explored PK/PD data, genomic data, data volume growth and advanced modeling tools & requirements, and they underlined the importance of cleaning, normalizing, and governing data sets in ways that respect both privacy and usability. Regular mentorship from my placement advisor, Prof. Shampa Das, along with the linkages to the various teams like the Advanced Research Operations (ARO), AWS team & Civic Health Innovation Labs (CHIL), anchored my efforts. With Shampa’s guidance, we polished the GDR business case and crafted a draft GDR opinion paper, marking a significant milestone in documenting and communicating the GDR vision.
Understanding the legal landscape proved just as critical. Together with the CAMO-Net Liverpool’s legal team led by Stephanie Laidlaw, we drafted and refined the GDR data-sharing agreements, diving into complex topics such as GDPR alignment and local privacy laws for CAMO-Net’s partner countries. These legal perspectives underscored that even the most well-designed platforms can be undermined if they fail to protect the confidentiality and rights of those whose data we handle. At the same time, talking to researchers who rely on day-to-day data access reminded me that compliance cannot be so rigid that it dampens scientific collaboration. Striking this balance is where the concept of federated data models truly shone, offering a means of local data ownership coupled with global-scale insight.
My encounters and sessions with the Advanced Research Operations (ARO) team significantly shaped my visit. They gave me a tour of real-world Trusted Research Environments (TREs), showing me secure workflows and operational benchmarks in action. Watching how the users requested dataset access, collaborated on code, and maintained audit trails drove home the importance of designing the GDR to be flexible and scalable without becoming unwieldy. These in-person sessions & demonstrations validated many assumptions behind the GDR’s initial blueprint, particularly around how best to combine secure infrastructure with intuitive processes for data ingestion and analysis.
Armed with new insights, I could then fine-tune the GDR business case, ensuring our workflow designs and cost projections were grounded in realistic usage scenarios rather than guesswork. The University of Liverpool context, enriched by thoughtful feedback from data scientists, clinicians, and IT specialists, gave me a thorough sense of how the GDR would hold up under actual scientific and operational demands. By observing the ARO’s approach to accommodating complex PK/PD modeling, I felt better equipped to specify the compute resources our platform should anticipate. Working hand-in-hand with the legal team also led to more robust data governance clauses in our agreements, weaving compliance into the GDR from its earliest planning stages. By the end of the placement, I had a new appreciation for the importance of a “TRE-first” mindset, in which security, compliance, and usability come together in a cohesive framework. I realized that building a platform for global AMR research is as much about forging relationships as it is about writing code or drafting legal policies. The people behind the data—patients, families, and researchers—deserve systems designed to keep their information safe, give them clarity on how data is being used, and empower them with tools to advance solutions for AMR.
Amid all the technical deep dives, Liverpool itself proved to be a charming companion. The city’s winter cold was instantly forgotten when office colleagues (Jacky, Esha, Sandra, Chris, Elaine, Vicky, Jenny, Yinzheng, Yu, Alex, Alessandro) and I stopped for coffee, shared hearty lunches, and discussed everything from the Beatles to where to find the best fish and chips. It was very lovely to put a face to the name when I met part of the CAMO-Net leadership Prof. Alison and Kerri during the Fleming fund fellows’ dinner. Those joyous moments with the Liverpool team helped me learn more about city, cement working relationships and were the warmth I needed in the winter breezes. In my downtime, I explored iconic Liverpool landmarks like the Royal Albert Dock, the Beatles Story Museum, and the grand Liverpool Cathedral, deepening my appreciation for the city’s rich history. Each adventure reminded me that innovation flourishes in places where history, culture, and fresh ideas intersect.
I am very grateful to my mentor Prof. Shampa, the CAMO-Net leadership & Capacity building team along with the CAMO-Net Liverpool & ARO teams for the collective efforts in making my placement a success! Special thanks to Jacky who coordinated my stay while at Liverpool and always ensured I had all I needed. Looking ahead, my immediate task is to build a small TRE prototype environment with guidance from the ARO team so we can test the GDR’s workflows in real-time. We hope to integrate our first PK/PD datasets from CAMO-Net hubs in Uganda, India, and the UK, thereby moving from theory to practice. Meanwhile, the GDR business case —currently in draft form— continues to evolve, laying out everything from data pipelines to governance models in one comprehensive resource. I’m confident that the lessons learned from my time in Liverpool will be instrumental in steering this business case towards funding and make it a framework other researchers can replicate.
More than anything, the month I spent in Liverpool reinforced my belief that meaningful innovation arises when diverse expertise converges. The synergy among bioinformaticians, IT professionals, data scientists, legal experts, and clinical researchers is what made these weeks so fruitful. Each perspective chipped away at my initial assumptions, refining them into a plan that feels tangible, respectful of local contexts, and optimally set up to serve a global mission. As I return to IDI, I carry that spirit of collaboration with me, convinced that the CAMO-Net GDR has the potential to unify vast quantities of data to address one of our greatest healthcare challenges: antimicrobial resistance.
