What is LASER?

LASER is a cloud-based Trusted Research Environment (TRE) that provides a secure environment for researchers to store, handle, process and analyse sensitive and confidential data. 

The platform is DSPT and ISO27001 accredited and supports AI and machine learning focussed research, at the University of Leeds, with end-to-end support from the in-house Data Analytics Team. 

In 2023, LASER and the Data Analytics Team served over 200 users, 70+ projects, more than £70million of research and more than 7TB of data (that's the equivalent of 5 months of continuous HD video!)

What LASER means for you

• Access your data remotely from anywhere in the UK
• Restrict your most sensitive data to bookable SafePods across 20+ UK locations and the LIDA-based saferooms
• Develop your own code and AI with access to a range of package repositories, via our air-gapped package management service 
• Work on your own, in teams and with other organisations with a flexible and scalable environment 
• Run projects for a few days or a few years, using any type of data your project requires. 
• Add specific software into your TRE such as R, Conda, Stata and others so you can access everything in one place 
• Monitor your project status with our PowerBI dashboard to stay on top of your costs, resources and user activity.
• Provide those necessary assurances for your all-important partnerships 
• Rest assured knowing that LASER is managed and maintained by the University of Leeds’ IT service and operated by the LIDA Data Analytics Team. Your fully in-house, end-to-end service, whenever you need them. 

LASER stays up to date with new and updated data security standards and regulations so you and your research partners have peace of mind that your data is in safe hands. 

Your own ‘walled garden’ has no access to the internet or other networks, making it highly secure. This high level of security enables compliance that is essential for many research projects with assurance requirements such as… 

- ISO270001

- NHS Data Security and Protection Toolkit (DSPT) 

- Competition Law 

- General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) 

- Internal University of Leeds ethical approvals 

- National Cyber Security Centre’s (NCSC) cloud security principles

• We don’t use a middle person, so when you speak to the Data Analytics Team about LASER, you go straight to the experts. 
• You don’t pay anything on top of the cost for your environment and operational support. 
• With LASER and the Data Analytics Team, you have instant escalation processes in place, should you need us. No relaying information and scenarios between the university and a third party, we know you, your data, your projects, your partners and your required assurances. 
• All your data is stored and backed up in the UK