About

Open-Source Developer & Data Standards Architect

I’m Sam Hume. I run Hume Data Labs, an independent practice where I build open-source software that helps implement clinical research and healthcare data standards, and Munging Metadata is where I write about that work: open-source software, data exchange standards, data engineering, clinical research informatics, and whatever technical problem currently has my attention.

Most of what I write grows out of code I actually ship. I build and maintain odmlib, an open-source Python library for CDISC ODM and the ODM-based standards. A theme runs through most of it, solutions over specifications: standards earn their keep when they’re executable, not when they sit as static documents. Where I can, I post papers here first, before they appear elsewhere.

I’ve spent 30+ years in the biopharmaceutical industry in senior technology roles, including more than a decade as CDISC’s VP of Data Science, and I’ve given 200+ conference presentations along the way - you’d think I’d have the hang of it by now. Today CDISC is a client of my practice: I serve as a Principal Consultant co-leading the 360i Data Definition Engine and the Data Exchange Standards teams, and I remain an active PHUSE contributor. What I enjoy most is that this working in the open, alongside developers and modelers around the world who care about the same problems.

For the full professional history, find me on LinkedIn.