Collaboration & Support
1. Innovative Study Designs Across the Entire Research Lifecycle
From the first research question to final dissemination, we craft prospective clinical trials using designs that maximise insight, efficiency and patient benefit.
What we offer:
Vast experience in traditional, cluster and stepped‑wedge randomized clinical trials, statistical planning in a regulated context, sample‑size assessment and re‑assessment, and interim monitoring.
Example projects:
- Development of a stepped-wedge cluster-randomized trial to evaluate dialysis risk reduction in chronic kidney disease. The MinDial project.
2. Advanced Epidemiological Modelling for Complex Time Structures in Observational Studies
State‑of‑the‑art methods to turn irregular, longitudinal and event‑time data into robust evidence.
What we offer:
Knowledge gained from our own methodological research on target‑trial emulation, causal inference under competing risks, multi‑state and joint models, recurrent-event and time-dependent exposure analyses.
Example projects:
- In the EU-funded COMBACTE‑MAGNET project, we developed state-of-the-art multi-state and competing-risk models to estimate incidence, length of stay, mortality, and costs associated with nosocomial infections, providing evidence-based tools for infection prevention and policy-making.
- As the German partner in the Benin‑based Humboldt Research Hub ‘Socio‑Ecological Modeling of COVID‑19 Dynamics in Africa’, we apply advanced modeling techniques to deepen insights into pandemic dynamics in resource‑limited settings.
- In the German Research Foundation (DFG)–funded project Development and application of statistical models to evaluate potential treatment effects in observational COVID‑19 studies, we developed bias‑aware methodologies for real‑world evidence.
3. Health Care Research with Comprehensive Evaluation Expertise
From data to policy impact: We design and conduct studies evaluating complex healthcare interventions, patient-centered outcomes, and system-level innovations.
What we offer:
Years of experience from projects in which we were the evaluating partners using pragmatic trial and mixed‑methods evaluation frameworks, routine‑data linkage, patient‑centred outcome measurement, implementation science support, stakeholder‑tailored reporting.
Example projects:
- As part of the KidsMRI project (Design and evaluation of a multimodal intervention for anaesthesia-free MRI in children), we have developed a comprehensive evaluation framework for a complex medical and psychosocial intervention aimed at enabling anaesthesia-free MRI scans in children aged between 4 and 8 years.
- The MinDial project evaluates minimisation of dialysis risk in hospital patients with chronic kidney disease in a multicentre, stepped-wedge, cluster-randomised controlled trial.
- The project “S.O.O.S. - Second Opinion Oncology Service” is concerned with setting up a second opinion network for cancer patients in the network of Comprehensive Cancer Centres funded by German Cancer Aid. We are responsible for the scientific evaluation and analyse the functioning of the intervention as well as the patient perception of the network.
4. Innovative Research‑Data Management for Collaborative Consortia
Making data FAIR and AI‑ready: We implement tools for reproducible research, metadata automation, and secure cross-institutional data integration.
What we offer:
We supports collaborative research projects in the process of making their data reuseable. To this end, we develop and maintain innovative software solutions tailored to the needs of scientists around our platform fredato.
Example projects:
- We currently support seven collaborative research centers and one cluster of excellence to ensure that data is FAIR and AI-ready.
- Using a structured, multistep and AI-guided approach, we are currently developing a metadata schema for the Small Data Initiative.
- We facilitate the metadata annotation process by leveraging Large Language Models using a multistep agentic approach.
5. Health Economic Evaluations Alongside Clinical Trials, Observational Studies or using Claims Data
Cost-effectiveness meets precision: We integrate all kinds of clinical data to inform resource allocation and policy decisions.
What we offer:
Cost‑effectiveness analyses focusing on the incentive structures that arise from the complex institutional constraints within the German healthcare system.
Example projects:
- There is a closely cooperation Center for Big Data Analysis in Cardiology and the Health Economics working group for conducting secondary data analyses using German claims data.
- In the CoCare trial, we conducted an economic evaluation alongside a prospective trial by incorporating claims data.
6. Statistical Consultancy
Methodological input for your biomedical research project from the design stage through to publication: We are experts in helping to make a good thing even better.
What we offer:
Statistical advice for researchers and students at the Medical Center and the Medical Faculty of the Albert-Ludwigs-University Freiburg, including the associated academic teaching hospitals. Do you need statistical help with your project? Submit your consultation request here and we will assign you a statistical consultant.
Why partner with us?
- Methodological Rigor: Expertise in causal inference, study design and AI/statistical hybrid models.
- End-to-End Support: From grant writing to publication-ready analysis.
- Collaborative Ethos: Active partnerships in CRC consortia, EU projects, and clinical networks.