Mayo Clinic Platform Connect
Advancing global health innovation through secure, federated data collaboration
Aga Khan University’s Data Innovation Office is part of Mayo Clinic Platform_Connect, a global health data network designed to support scientific discovery, responsible AI development, and next-generation care.
Mayo Clinic Platform_Connect links healthcare innovators to a secure, diverse, and privacy-preserving global data network, enabling richer insights, faster decisions, and more equitable patient care. The platform brings together leading healthcare organisations across the world to make discovery, diagnosis, treatment insights, and AI-enabled healthcare solutions more generalisable across different populations and care settings.
Why this matters
Healthcare innovation depends on data that reflects the diversity of the people and communities it is intended to serve. Too often, digital health and AI solutions are built using narrow datasets that do not fully represent patients in low- and middle-income settings.
Through Mayo Clinic Platform_Connect, AKU contributes to a broader global effort to responsibly expand access to de-identified, multimodal health data while maintaining strong safeguards for privacy, security, and institutional control.
This collaboration creates opportunities to:
Accelerate scientific research and discovery.
Support development and validation of AI and digital health solutions.
Improve the generalisability of algorithms across diverse populations.
Enable collaboration with global health systems, researchers, and industry partners.
Strengthen responsible data sharing while protecting patient privacy.
How does the platform work
Mayo Clinic Platform_Connect uses a federated data model. This means participating institutions can collaborate and generate insights without moving identifiable patient data outside their protected environments.
The platform applies a "Data Behind Glass” approach, where data remains de-identified, secure, and under the control of the participating institution. This model is designed to maximise privacy and trust while allowing approved research, analytics, and AI development activities to take place in a secure environment.
For AKU, this approach aligns with the Data Innovation Office’s commitment to responsible data use, strong governance, and ethical innovation that advances health outcomes.
What is AKU’s role in the global network?
As part of the network, AKU brings a critical perspective from East Africa and the Global South. The partnership supports the development, validation, and deployment of health innovations that are better suited to diverse patient populations and real-world care environments.
AKU’s participation also creates pathways for:
Collaborative research with global partners.
Development and validation of AI-enabled health solutions.
Responsible use of de-identified clinical data for discovery and innovation.
Strengthening capacity in secure data sharing, governance, and analytics.
Contributing African health system perspectives to global digital health innovation.
Which other organizations are part of the data network?
Mayo Clinic have partnered with leading healthcare organizations across the globe to create a data network representing diverse patient populations. The network provides federated access to rich, deep multimodal data that makes discovery, diagnosis and treatment insights much richer and more generalizable.
The current data network partners include:
A platform for responsible innovation
Mayo Clinic Platform_Connect is not only about accessing data. It is about building a trusted model for collaboration across health systems, academic institutions, innovators, and industry partners.
Through this partnership, AKU aims to support solutions that are clinically relevant, locally grounded, ethically governed, and capable of improving patient care.
The collaboration reflects a shared belief that the future of healthcare innovation must be secure, inclusive, evidence-driven, and globally representative.
About Mayo Clinic Platform_Connect
Mayo Clinic Platform_Connect is a global health data network that provides federated access to rich, de-identified, multimodal patient data. It supports healthcare innovation by enabling scientific discovery, algorithm development, real-world clinical trials, and deployment of qualified solutions across participating organisations.
Current network partners include leading healthcare institutions across multiple regions, creating a more diverse data network for discovery and care innovation.
Learn more
To learn more about Mayo Clinic Platform_Connect, visit:
https://www.mayoclinicplatform.org/focus-areas/healthcare-providers/connect/
