Paul Harris, PhD, Professor of Biomedical Informatics, Biomedical Engineering and Biostatistics, is among 100 newly elected members of the National Academy of Medicine (NAM), the organization announced Oct. 19.
Formerly called the Institute of Medicine, NAM was established in 1970 as the health arm of the national academies. Both an honorific membership organization and an advisory organization, NAM is a national resource for independent, scientifically informed analysis, providing recommendations on a broad range of health-related issues. With more than 2,400 members, the organization collaborates closely with its peer academies, the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering.
Harris’ election comes with the following citation from NAM: “For designing, engineering, and disseminating leading technologies that support diverse biomedical research at scale, including REDCap, ResearchMatch, and the All of Us Research Program. REDCap has been used by more than 4.5 million users in 8,000 institutions in 160 countries, ResearchMatch has supported more than 1,400 studies, and All of Us has more than 22,000 projects.”
REDCap, short for Research Electronic Data Capture, is a secure web application for building and managing online surveys and databases, geared to support online and offline data capture for research studies and operations.
ResearchMatch, funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), is a secure tool that helps to connect people interested in research studies with researchers from top medical centers across the U.S.
All of Us, also funded by the NIH, is a research participant biobank linked to a data set spanning surveys, electronic health records, genomic analyses, physical measurements and wearables. It is stored on a secure, cloud-based research platform managed by the Data and Research Center at Vanderbilt Health.
Election to the academy is considered one of the highest honors in the fields of health and medicine and recognizes individuals who have demonstrated outstanding professional achievement and commitment to service. New members are elected by current members through a process that recognizes individuals who have made major contributions to the advancement of the medical sciences, health care, and public health. On its membership roster NAM currently lists 24 current and former faculty from Vanderbilt Health and Vanderbilt University.
“Once again, it is heartening to see a member of our faculty recognized in this important way,” said Jeff Balser, MD, PhD, President and CEO of Vanderbilt Health and Dean of Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. “The digital tools conceived and developed by Dr. Harris have been adopted by scientists in every corner of the globe, with REDCap now being used by clinical investigators and basic scientists in advanced economies as well as field epidemiologists and community health workers in the world’s least developed countries. I want to offer my congratulations to Paul for this well-deserved distinction and add my thanks for his estimable contributions to the biomedical research enterprise writ large.”
Harris joined Vanderbilt in 1999. Previously, he was Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine at Virginia Commonwealth University.
“I’m humbled and honored by this recognition, and grateful to the teams, colleagues and leaders who have supported our work,” said Harris, who is also Vice President for Research Informatics.
Harris earned a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering from Tennessee Technological University and a doctorate in biomedical engineering from Vanderbilt University.
Harris has served on advisory boards and otherwise directly assisted the work of scores of research organizations nationally and internationally. In recognition of his contributions to the field, he has been elected to fellowship in the American College of Medical Informatics, the International Academy of Health Sciences Informatics, and the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering. Among his other honors are the Donald A.B. Lindberg Award for Innovation in Informatics from the American Medical Informatics Association, and the Edward H. Ahrens, Jr. Distinguished Investigator Award from the Association for Clinical and Translational Science.
Other current Vanderbilt faculty in the National Academy of Medicine by year of election:
1990 – James Blumstein, LLB, MA, University Distinguished Professor of Law and Medicine
2000 – William Stead, MD, McKesson Foundation Professor in Biomedical Informatics and Professor of Medicine
2006 – Ellen Wright Clayton, JD, MD, Craig-Weaver Professor of Pediatrics and Professor of Law and Biomedical Informatics
2008 – Jeff Balser, MD, PhD, President and CEO of Vanderbilt University Medical Center and Dean of Vanderbilt University School of Medicine
2009 – Michael DeBaun, MD, MPH, J.C. Peterson, MD, Professor of Pediatrics and Director of the Vanderbilt-Meharry Center of Excellence in Sickle Cell Disease
2014 – James Crowe Jr., MD, University Distinguished Professor of Pediatrics and Chemistry, holder of the Ann Scott Carrell Chair, and director of the Vanderbilt Center for Antibody Therapeutics
2018 – Bradley Malin, PhD, MPhil, MS, Professor of Biomedical Informatics, Biostatistics and Computer Science, and holder of the Accenture Chair
2018 – John Kuriyan, PhD, University Distinguished Professor of Biochemistry, Chemistry, and Cell and Developmental Biology, holder of the Mary Geddes Stahlman Chair, and Dean of the School of Medicine Basic Sciences
2020 – Nancy Carrasco, MD, MS, University Distinguished Professor of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics and Chair of the department, and holder of the Joe C. Davis Chair in Biomedical Science
2020 – Velma McBride Murry, PhD, MS, University Distinguished Professor of Human and Organizational Development and holder of the Lois Autrey Betts Chair in Education and Human Development
2020 – Consuelo Wilkins, MD, MSCI, Professor of Medicine, holder of the Mildred Thornton Stahlman Chair in Rural Health, and Senior Vice President and Senior Associate Dean of Community Health and Engagement
2022 – Christopher Carpenter, PhD, E. Bronson Ingram Professor of Economics, University Distinguished Professor of Health Policy, and Professor of Law
2022 – Lisa Monteggia, PhD, Lee E. Limbird Professor of Pharmacology and Barlow Family Director of the Vanderbilt Brain Institute
2025 – Stacie Dusetzina, PhD, Professor of Health Policy and Ingram Professor of Cancer Research
2025 – Michael Matheny, MD, MS, MPH, Professor of Biomedical Informatics, Medicine and Biostatistics, and Director of the Center for Improving the Public’s Health through Informatics
2025 – Eben Rosenthal, MD, Professor and Chair of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, and holder of the Barry and Amy Baker Chair in Laryngeal, Head and Neck Research
