Jerina Hoxha
16.2.26
Three days of intensive collaboration to strengthen data harmonisation, federated learning readiness, and prototype development
The first internal CERTAINTY Hackathon took place from 2–4 February 2026, hosted in a hybrid format at Fraunhofer IZI in Leipzig, and online.
Over three intensive and highly collaborative days, data providers, scientific leads across the project, and members of the project coordination team worked side by side to advance key technical objectives of the project.
The Hackathon focused on:
Refining the CERTAINTY Observational Medical Outcomes Partnership (OMOP) Common Data Model (CDM)
Strengthening data readiness for federated learning
Prototyping a visual interface to support decision-making for CAR T cell therapy eligibility
Aligning on OMOP Standards and Data Harmonisation
Significant progress was made in aligning partners on OMOP CDM standards, guided by Observational Health Data Sciences and Informatics (OHDSI) best practices.
The teams worked on harmonising information from several source datasets, addressing CERTAINTY-specific challenges in mapping to the OMOP CDM, onboarding additional datasets, and refining approaches to ensure interoperability across partners. These steps are essential to enabling secure, privacy-preserving federated analyses across the consortium.
The Hackathon also allowed participants to jointly troubleshoot technical bottlenecks, accelerate implementation timelines, and strengthen cross-work package alignment through hands-on collaboration.
Prototyping the Virtual Twin Interface
Another key focus was the continued development of the Virtual Twin interface, including early concepts for transparent and explainable visualisation. These efforts aim to ensure that the CERTAINTY Virtual Twin can provide meaningful, interpretable, and clinically relevant decision support for clinicians assessing eligibility for CAR T cell therapy in multiple myeloma.
The close exchange between technical experts, data scientists, and clinical partners once again demonstrated the strength of cross-work package collaboration within the consortium.
Watch the Hackathon Highlights
The video below captures impressions from three productive days of discussion and collaborative problem-solving.
Behind the Scenes
We are also sharing a selection of photos from the Hackathon in Leipzig, offering a glimpse into the focused and solution-driven atmosphere that characterised the event.
Thank You to All Partners
We would like to thank all partners who contributed on-site and online, including: Fraunhofer IZI, Fraunhofer SCAI, ICCAS – Innovation Center Computer Assisted Surgery, Information Technology for Translational Medicine (ITTM), TriNetX, HealthTree Foundation, Universitätsklinikum Würzburg, Masaryk University, Myeloma Patients Europe (MPE), EBMT, and Roche.
The Hackathon marked an important step in advancing the CERTAINTY Virtual Twin towards a research-use prototype that supports personalised decision-making in cellular immunotherapy.