ITM Data Commons
Health extends beyond genetics and clinical care. It’s shaped by the neighborhood you live in, the air you
breathe, how safe you feel walking outside, and whether there is a grocery store or a park nearby. The ITM
Data Commons makes this contextual data accessible for biomedical research and discovery.
23
Datasets
X
Total Number of Variables
X
Integrated Data Sources
866
Chicago Census tracts represented
WELCOME TO THE ITM DATA COMMONS
The ITM Data Commons is a collection of datasets that are complementary to the biological and clinical data
usually used in biomedical research. These data mostly come from federal, publicly available sources and
include data on population size, employment and income, crime and safety, community resources (like healthcare
facilities, schools, parks, transportation, roads), weather, air quality, housing, industry, businesses, and health
status and behaviors. The ITM Data Commons makes it easier for scientists to access these data and link them
with biological and clinical data, giving them a fuller picture of how these elements may help explain variability in
the development and progression of disease, as well as the response to interventions. With the ITM Data
Commons, we hope to foster more rigorous clinical translation that leads to improved health outcomes for all.
Support groundbreaking research
Another Past Story
Who is the ITM Data Commons for?
The ITM Data Commons is built for researchers, clinicians, and data scientists with questions about why
outcomes differ across communities or how social, environmental, or economic conditions interact with clinical
factors.
The ITM Data Commons is hosted on Globus and available to all researchers with approved data access requests.
How have other researchers used it?
The ITM Data Commons supports research across a broad range of scientific questions, particularly those in
which the social, environmental, or economic contexts of people’s lives may shape health, behavior, and
outcomes.
Among published research, a 2023 paper in the Journal of Clinical and Translational Science introduced the
platform and demonstrated its use in investigating the social, environmental, behavioral, psychological, and economic factors that shape patient health outcomes. The study examined pediatric asthma exacerbations on
Chicago’s South Side to assess if where and how kids lived made their asthma worse. This initial project
illustrated how the ITM Data Commons can be used to strengthen predictive models by incorporating variables
In addition, the ITM Data Commons has been incorporated into undergraduate coursework at ITM institutions,
giving students hands-on experience with real-world data.
Dive into the data
Researchers wishing to access the ITM Data Commons must complete the ITM Data Commons onboarding
and review process.
