Three research teams in the U.S. and Israel have won the New England Journal of Medicine’s SPRINT data analysis challenge, a competition aimed at sharing clinical trial data.
The New England Journal of Medicine mentioned in a news release that editors received 143 submissions to the contest, which asked research teams to analyze data presented in the SPRINT (Systolic Blood Pressure Intervention Trial) study and identify a novel scientific or clinical finding.
The SPRINT trial, which was published in the New England Journal of Medicine in November 2015, found that adults who had a systolic blood pressure target of 120 mm Hg had a 25 percent lower relative risk of the primary composite outcome of MI, other acute coronary syndromes, stroke, heart failure or death from cardiovascular causes compared with the standard treatment group.
Participants in the study were at least 50 years old, had an increased risk of cardiovascular events and did not have diabetes.
The three winners of the SPRINT data analysis challenge were:
- First place: Noa Dagan, MD, MPH, Chief Data Officer and Researcher at Clalit Research Institute in Tel Aviv, Israel – “To Treat Intensively or Not – Individualized Decision Making Support Tool.”
- Second place: Rahul Aggarwal (Renality Check) of Boston University School of Medicine in Boston, Massachusetts – “Assessing the Impact of Intensive Blood Pressure Management in Chronic Kidney Disease Patients.”
- Third place: Sanjay Basu, MD, PhD, of Stanford University in Stanford, California – “Development and Validation of a Clinical Decision Score to Maximize Benefit and Minimize Harm from Intensive Blood Pressure Treatment.”
The three research teams will present their findings at the Aligning Incentives for Sharing Clinical Trial Data summit on April 3 and 4. The first place winner received $5,000, while the prizes were $2,500 for second place and $1,000 for third place.
“Our goal for the SPRINT Challenge was to find out what could be achieved by sharing clinical trial data and bringing trialists, data analysts and patients together for a constructive conversation. The winners reflect this spirit,” Jeffrey Drazen, MD, editor-in-chief of the New England Journal of Medicine and the challenge’s co-chair, said in a news release. “The research community rallied to participate in the SPRINT Challenge. We appreciate the time and effort that went into each entry.”
Executive Editor
Tim Casey joined TriMed Media Group in 2015 as Executive Editor. For the previous four years, he worked as an editor and writer for HMP Communications, primarily focused on covering managed care issues and reporting from medical and health care conferences. He was also a staff reporter at the Sacramento Bee for more than four years covering professional, college and high school sports. He earned his undergraduate degree in psychology from the University of Notre Dame and his MBA degree from Georgetown University.