Data flow in the Luxembourg COVID-19 joint initiative: a blueprint for data-driven translational medicine | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Data flow in the Luxembourg COVID-19 joint initiative: a blueprint for data-driven translational medicine Irina Balaur, Piyapong Khumrin, Soumyabrata Ghosh, Dmitry Bulaev, and 16 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7114519/v2 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 2 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Show more versions Abstract CoVaLux is a unique national scientific consortium studying COVID-19, vaccination, and long-term health outcomes in Luxembourg. The program combines data from multiple research initiatives in a secure environment, establishing an effective framework for data management and analysis. Here, we delineate the development of the CoVaLux data flow, addressing critical requirements and showcasing how CoVaLux can serve as a model for similar medical research projects worldwide, particularly in pandemic preparation. Systems Biology COVID-19 national initiative data flow biomedical data socio-economical data secure analytics environment Full Text Additional Declarations The authors declare no competing interests. Supplementary Files SupplementaryFigure1.png Supplementary Figure1 – Schematic representation of the processes managed within the RQ-specific secure VM at UNILU. First, a System administrator sets-up a dedicated secure virtual machine (VM) for a RQ, following requirements from a RQ working team. The Data manager moves the RQ-specific dataset to the VM, allowing for further analytics. Once the data transfer is finished, the VM is decoupled from the internet, and only authorised users from the RQ working team can access remotely the VM, via the Apache Guacamole system and following two-factor authentication. The research team can perform data analysis for the specific RQ. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 2 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Show more versions Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-7114519","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":606690118,"identity":"7e308daa-8e8f-4001-93f9-5553cc26ecec","order_by":0,"name":"Irina Balaur","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA3ElEQVRIiWNgGAWjYBACNgbGBiB1gIEPxPtQAOIyNxCnhQ1IMs4wAHEZ8WuBAogWZh5itPBJH2578IPhjjwb+xmzzzYGd2TnNzC2SeB1GF9iu2EPwzPDNp4c49k5Bs+MNxwgpIUHqICH4TBjG0OOMXOOweHEDQxEaJH8w3DYvo3/jTGzBVALYYcBtUgDbUlskwDawgDU0kCMw6RlDJ4lt0k8K2bsMThsvOEwY7MFPi3yPezPJN9U3LHt50/ezPCj4rDs/PbmgzfwaYEAA2QOM2H1o2AUjIJRMAoIAADh4EIs0pciUwAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3671-895X","institution":"Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine, University of Luxembourg, Luxembourg","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Irina","middleName":"","lastName":"Balaur","suffix":""},{"id":606690119,"identity":"64c8eae5-2612-4960-a1d1-a49c26a9f29e","order_by":1,"name":"Piyapong Khumrin","email":"","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2098-9189","institution":"Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine, University of Luxembourg, Luxembourg; Department of Family Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, Thailand","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Piyapong","middleName":"","lastName":"Khumrin","suffix":""},{"id":606690120,"identity":"55518944-b939-43ef-91fe-f868e29e1f18","order_by":2,"name":"Soumyabrata Ghosh","email":"","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0659-6733","institution":"Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine, University of Luxembourg, Luxembourg","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Soumyabrata","middleName":"","lastName":"Ghosh","suffix":""},{"id":606690121,"identity":"a6e122bd-9ae9-46fd-b020-ff8dd2dbfd4c","order_by":3,"name":"Dmitry Bulaev","email":"","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0650-8871","institution":"3.\tCompetence Centre for Methodology and Statistics, Department of Medical Informatics, Luxembourg Institute of Health, Luxembourg","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Dmitry","middleName":"","lastName":"Bulaev","suffix":""},{"id":606690122,"identity":"72e2ee8c-b13d-4222-a106-9c4076fff2bd","order_by":4,"name":"Priyanka Mendon","email":"","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5759-4231","institution":"3.\tCompetence Centre for Methodology and Statistics, Department of Medical Informatics, Luxembourg Institute of Health, Luxembourg","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Priyanka","middleName":"","lastName":"Mendon","suffix":""},{"id":606690123,"identity":"cbbf28d3-6157-4c7e-a9cb-1f5c1a5748ed","order_by":5,"name":"Kavita Rege","email":"","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0009-0008-5992-3391","institution":"Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine, University of Luxembourg, Luxembourg","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Kavita","middleName":"","lastName":"Rege","suffix":""},{"id":606690124,"identity":"ad13029f-cd3c-4c63-9942-4fa5c2ce4404","order_by":6,"name":"Milena Despotovic","email":"","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7436-3398","institution":"4.\tDeep Digital Phenotyping Research Unit, Department of Precision Health, Luxembourg Institute of Health, Luxembourg","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Milena","middleName":"","lastName":"Despotovic","suffix":""},{"id":606690125,"identity":"1355e01d-1625-4ab3-b4ed-937825723a19","order_by":7,"name":"Sarah Peter","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine, University of Luxembourg, Luxembourg","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Sarah","middleName":"","lastName":"Peter","suffix":""},{"id":606690126,"identity":"1ae1253a-a91e-4ddd-a172-a15821f4f7c4","order_by":8,"name":"Rajesh Rawal","email":"","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0151-9344","institution":"Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine, University of Luxembourg, Luxembourg","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Rajesh","middleName":"","lastName":"Rawal","suffix":""},{"id":606690127,"identity":"3a48f831-be96-404c-9de4-602b2e9dc5f4","order_by":9,"name":"Jochen Ohnmacht","email":"","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7109-6802","institution":"5.\tTransversal Translational Medicine, Luxembourg Institute of Health, Luxembourg","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Jochen","middleName":"","lastName":"Ohnmacht","suffix":""},{"id":606690128,"identity":"99ba24ff-0209-4154-a028-9732fa4de007","order_by":10,"name":"Joëlle V. Fritz","email":"","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4694-3923","institution":"5.\tTransversal Translational Medicine, Luxembourg Institute of Health, Luxembourg","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Joëlle","middleName":"V.","lastName":"Fritz","suffix":""},{"id":606690129,"identity":"38e4426b-2c51-464f-82d0-58a8db6aaa2e","order_by":11,"name":"Marc Paul O’Sullivan","email":"","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6184-3306","institution":"5.\tTransversal Translational Medicine, Luxembourg Institute of Health, Luxembourg","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Marc","middleName":"Paul","lastName":"O’Sullivan","suffix":""},{"id":606690130,"identity":"92d186c0-416a-4664-8e40-04ab66c1c506","order_by":12,"name":"Carlo Haller","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"6.\tInspection générale de la sécurité sociale, Ministère de la Santé et de la Sécurité sociale, Luxembourg","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Carlo","middleName":"","lastName":"Haller","suffix":""},{"id":606690131,"identity":"b4d28f0e-6562-4476-a75b-9e0d1bae0eaf","order_by":13,"name":"Vanessa Di Bartolomeo","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"6.\tInspection générale de la sécurité sociale, Ministère de la Santé et de la Sécurité sociale, Luxembourg","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Vanessa","middleName":"Di","lastName":"Bartolomeo","suffix":""},{"id":606690132,"identity":"b1428854-c03b-43cb-950f-ab8497b69989","order_by":14,"name":"Christophe Shinn","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"6.\tInspection générale de la sécurité sociale, Ministère de la Santé et de la Sécurité sociale, Luxembourg","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Christophe","middleName":"","lastName":"Shinn","suffix":""},{"id":606690133,"identity":"3cc5ad6d-493c-420f-99f3-a9f34d580cdf","order_by":15,"name":"Rejko Krüger","email":"","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4258-6241","institution":"Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine, University of Luxembourg, Luxembourg; Transversal Translational Medicine, Luxembourg Institute of Health, Luxembourg; Department of Neurology and Parkinson Research Clinic, Centre Hospitalier de Luxembourg (CHL), Luxembourg","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Rejko","middleName":"","lastName":"Krüger","suffix":""},{"id":606690134,"identity":"e4a68bb4-2454-4173-84f9-187003c867cf","order_by":16,"name":"Guy Fagherazzi","email":"","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5033-5966","institution":"4.\tDeep Digital Phenotyping Research Unit, Department of Precision Health, Luxembourg Institute of Health, Luxembourg","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Guy","middleName":"","lastName":"Fagherazzi","suffix":""},{"id":606690135,"identity":"34c0e38c-7e86-47f7-8412-4926eb8be3c2","order_by":17,"name":"Paul Wilmes","email":"","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6478-2924","institution":"Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine, University of Luxembourg, Luxembourg; Department of Life Sciences and Medicine, Faculty of Science, Technology and Medicine, University of Luxembourg, Luxembourg","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Paul","middleName":"","lastName":"Wilmes","suffix":""},{"id":606690136,"identity":"78bbb57a-0724-4718-8320-54c232b46c6e","order_by":18,"name":"Michel Vaillant","email":"","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4714-8128","institution":"Competence Centre for Methodology and Statistics, Department of Medical Informatics, Luxembourg Institute of Health, Luxembourg","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Michel","middleName":"","lastName":"Vaillant","suffix":""},{"id":606690137,"identity":"6a4bca25-70dd-4918-bec8-9618e77205cd","order_by":19,"name":"Venkata Satagopam","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAABA0lEQVRIiWNgGAWjYHACZjQ+ewMDQwKDBQEtCchaeQ6ABCRI0SIB5uHWYnC897DBzx92DPLt5w9+/FJxR1535huzBw8YJBIbcGk5cy45sSchGchIZpaWOfPMcNvtHHODBDxaJGfkGB/gSWBmMGBIZpCWbDvMCNRiJoFXy/w3xgf/JNQzyPc/Zv4N1GK/7eYZ/Fr4JXiMk3kSDjMw3Ehmk/zYdjhx2w0eAlp4coyNZdKO8xjceGxmzXDmWfK2M2llEgkGEsa4tLCxnzGWfGNTLSffn/j45o+KO7bbjh/eJvmjwkYWlxYY4AERzDwMB6B8AwLqYYDxB1zLKBgFo2AUjAIEAABailaPtT/fbAAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6532-5880","institution":"Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine, University of Luxembourg, Luxembourg","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Venkata","middleName":"","lastName":"Satagopam","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-07-13 16:30:12","currentVersionCode":2,"declarations":{"humanSubjects":true,"vertebrateSubjects":false,"conflictsOfInterestStatement":false,"humanSubjectEthicalGuidelines":true,"humanSubjectConsent":true,"humanSubjectClinicalTrial":false,"humanSubjectCaseReport":false,"vertebrateSubjectEthicalGuidelines":false},"doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7114519/v2","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7114519/v2","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":105035796,"identity":"5219d374-9ae1-4b73-8bd9-3a2cf6e2ecf8","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-03-20 07:26:38","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":611154,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"COVALUXDataFlowmainmanuscript032026updated.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7114519/v2_covered_4f7d01b2-a9f5-4f7f-bf59-f27ca5adfaee.pdf"},{"id":105003996,"identity":"9b40cb85-33e1-4406-b88f-e6a1a09b9b83","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-03-19 17:50:23","extension":"png","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"supplement","size":68747,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eSupplementary Figure1\u003cem\u003e– Schematic representation of the processes managed within the RQ-specific secure VM at UNILU. First, a System administrator sets-up a dedicated secure virtual machine (VM) for a RQ, following requirements from a RQ working team. The Data manager moves the RQ-specific dataset to the VM, allowing for further analytics. Once the data transfer is finished, the VM is decoupled from the internet, and only authorised users from the RQ working team can access remotely the VM, via the Apache Guacamole system and following two-factor authentication. The research team can perform data analysis for the specific RQ.\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"SupplementaryFigure1.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7114519/v2/e9ecbd7427a9c295f9097f6f.png"}],"financialInterests":"The authors declare no competing interests.","formattedTitle":"Data flow in the Luxembourg COVID-19 joint initiative: a blueprint for data-driven translational medicine","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"University of Luxembourg","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"
[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"COVID-19, national initiative, data flow, biomedical data, socio-economical data, secure analytics environment","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7114519/v2","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7114519/v2","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eCoVaLux is a unique national scientific consortium studying COVID-19, vaccination, and long-term health outcomes in Luxembourg. The program combines data from multiple research initiatives in a secure environment, establishing an effective framework for data management and analysis. Here, we delineate the development of the CoVaLux data flow, addressing critical requirements and showcasing how CoVaLux can serve as a model for similar medical research projects worldwide, particularly in pandemic preparation.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Data flow in the Luxembourg COVID-19 joint initiative: a blueprint for data-driven translational medicine","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":2,"date":"2026-03-19 17:50:17","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7114519/v2","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"
[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}},{"code":1,"date":"2026-03-16 07:51:26","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7114519/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"
[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"e6743c70-ae73-476c-8753-97e92d0bf05c","owner":[],"postedDate":"March 19th, 2026","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[{"id":64556824,"name":"Systems Biology"}],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-03-30T20:09:41+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2026-03-19 17:50:17","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v2","identity":"rs-7114519","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-7114519","identity":"rs-7114519","version":["v2"]},"buildId":"XKTyCvWXoU3ODBz1xrDgd","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}
Text is read by the "Ask this paper" AI Q&A widget below.
Extraction quality varies by source — PMC NXML preserves structure
cleanly, OA-HTML may include some navigation residue, and OA-PDF can
have broken hyphenation. The publisher copy
(via DOI)
is the canonical version.