Trusted Research Environment
The University of Glasgow Trusted Research Environment (TRE) is an advanced, secure digital platform designed to empower researchers by providing safe access to sensitive health data. It allows scientists to explore personal and confidential information while adhering to the highest legal and ethical standards. This environment fosters collaboration across diverse disciplines and institutions, driving significant advancements in public health and community well-being.
In collaboration with the Centre of Excellence for Trials Collaboration (CETC), the University of Glasgow TRE combines research expertise with innovative trial design, ensuring secure access to electronic health records and patient privacy. Guided by the Five Safes Framework and certified under the Cyber Essentials Plus and NHS Data Security and Protection Toolkit, the University of Glasgow TRE operates from a Tier 3 ISO 27001 data centre. Partnered with NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde and West of Scotland Safe Haven, it offers pseudonymised linked data for health insights. This platform ensures that researchers can safely engage with sensitive information while prioritising patient privacy, a vital consideration in today’s research landscape.
Find out how the Five Safes framework keeps data safe and secure when it's used for research.
Our Services
The University of Glasgow TRE offers a comprehensive suite of services, carefully tailored to support researchers at every stage of their projects:
Data Access and Analysis
The University of Glasgow TRE can facilitate secondary usage of sensitive real-world datasets. Researchers can access advanced analytical tools with AI and machine learning pipelines to conduct novel data science analyses.
Support and Training
The University of Glasgow TRE offers extensive training and personalised support to help researchers effectively use the platform and its tools.
Collaboration Opportunities
The University of Glasgow TRE promotes interdisciplinary collaboration among researchers and NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, leading to innovative solutions for complex challenges.
Access Control
The University of Glasgow TRE enforces strict access controls, allowing only authorised personnel to access data after a thorough approval process.
Audit Trails
All information in the University of Glasgow TRE is encrypted during storage and transmission to protect against unauthorised access, ensuring data integrity and confidentiality.
Data Encryption
The University of Glasgow TRE maintains detailed logs of all data access and interactions, ensuring transparent oversight and holding users accountable for their activities.
Latest News
The University of Glasgow’s Trusted Research Environment (TRE) Team is a new initiative, funded by the College of MVLS, which will strengthen the University’s capacity to support secure, high-integrity research. The UofG TRE is being developed as a safe, certified infrastructure for working with sensitive data, built on strong standards of privacy, ethics and public trust.
As our Year TRE Exemplar projects progress, collaboration remains central to the team’s approach. We look forward to working closely with colleagues across MVLS, the wider University and external partners to shape a service that meets the needs of its users. Researchers, technical specialists and governance lead all play a vital role in creating a new TRE service that is robust, trusted and ready for the future.
An important milestone for March 2026 is the initiation of the first UofG TRE workspace.
The team is also pleased to share its latest Public, Patient and Involvement Engagement (PPIE), highlighting the invaluable insights contributed by public, patient and partner communities.
