Our Identity
Research Information Technology Systems (RITS), as part of the Cliical Research Office in the Department of Oncology, Johns Hopkins University, implements functional and appropriate information technology for the Hopkins oncology community. RITS collaborates with Cancer Center investigators in the design and construction of data systems in support of clinical, translational, and laboratory research. RITS members build databases which integrate data from disparate sources.
Our Mission
To provide an integrated environment via hardware, software, and computational expertise to facilitate the aims of the researchers. The group provides database and web development, web site support, and server support for multiple programs and SPORES.
Projects
Core Values
Effectiveness
With fewer boundaries between users and the team responsible for turning their desires into reality, our applications are distinctly effective at delivering on the wants and needs of the end user.
Dependability
At RITS we have and will continue to support in the missions of our users, that means they need to be able to depend on us not only to create their application, but to upkeep it as well. Our team is responsible for the deployment, upkeep, and maintenance of fifty-three unique applications and counting.
Communication
Keeping in consistent contact with our users is just one way we help maintain our upstanding relationship with our users, but also how we ensure the applications we provide continue to meet their changing needs with time.
Meet the Team
Service Request
A typical project begins with a discussion about the scope of the work. At this meeting, the investigators and the RITS representative(s) review the objectives of the project. The conversation will cover the sorts of data the investigators will collect (or are collecting), the sources for these data (e.g., clinic, lab, other institutions), the data types (e.g., repeated measurements for patients over time, imaging data, genomic data), and the needs for reports and analyses of these data, and so forth.
After the initial discussion, RITS staff will produce a Statement of Work for the project. This statement will summarize the initial conversations about the needs and desires for the database. The Statement of Work will also outline the responsibilities of all parties with respect to the database's development, initiation, and maintenance. For example, the document will include a schedule of regular meetings to allow both sides to review progress and make corrections or changes if needed.
Finally, the development process will begin, where our team will work to the best of their ability to provide a pithy application tailored to the discussed needs of the end user. As this phase progresses, communication between the team and users continues regularly to ensure the best final end product.
*Start the service request process now by submitting a new service request form above.*
User Fees
The Research Information Technology Services (RITS) Core at Johns Hopkins is a University Service Center/Shared Resource that is part of the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins and the Department of Oncology.
In order to maintain a service center in compliance with A-21, annual budgets and rate schedules must be developed and approved by the Divisional Business Office to the Office of Cost Analysis. The Cancer Center has initiated such a formal chargeback system for RITS. A budget number will be required for all new projects and new application development.
User fees are: $105/hour for FY23
The RITS Core Manager, Alla Guseynova, is available to estimate time requirements for new projects and applications. Terry Gibson, Senior Financial Manager, oversees the accounting process and is also available to provide assistance.
