Department of Biomedical Informatics Archives
DBMI program for undergrads receives grant renewal from NSF
Apr. 15, 2021—The National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded a three-year grant renewal for Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s Department of Biomedical Informatics (DBMI) Research Experiences for Undergraduates Program for Access to Training in Health Informatics (REU-PATHI).
Health care equity focus of tech design challenge
Apr. 15, 2021—A proposal titled “Capture of Smoking History in EHR for Assessment of Lung Cancer Screening Eligibility” has won the inaugural VCLIC Design Challenge, sponsored by the Vanderbilt Clinical Informatics Center (VCLIC).
Team analyzed clinical notes to identify COVID symptoms
Apr. 15, 2021—At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, public health authorities first had to identify and draw attention to common signs and symptoms of the disease.
COVID-19 met with intensive teamwork
Apr. 1, 2021—Team members serving COVID-19 inpatients were more densely connected, interacting far more than their medical ICU counterparts.
COVID-19 and Cancer Consortium study highlights racial disparities, increased mortality for patients facing dual diagnoses
Mar. 19, 2021—The COVID-19 and Cancer Consortium (CCC19) published new findings in the Annals of Oncology showing heightened mortality and racial disparities for patients with cancer diagnosed with SARS-CoV-2 infection.
Artificial intelligence calculates suicide attempt risk at VUMC
Mar. 15, 2021—A machine learning algorithm that predicts suicide attempt recently underwent a prospective trial at the institution where it was developed, Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
Johnson to step down as DBMI chair
Mar. 9, 2021—Kevin Johnson, MD, MS, Cornelius Vanderbilt Professor and chair of the Department of Biomedical Informatics (DBMI), professor of Pediatrics and Informatician-in-Chief at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, will depart the organization on Nov. 1, to join the faculty of the University of Pennsylvania and Perelman School of Medicine. He will continue to serve as chair of DBMI as a national search is conducted to identify his successor.
Epic founder Faulkner highlights DBMI online seminar
Feb. 25, 2021—The CEO and founder of one of the world’s largest electronic health record (EHR) vendors, Judith Faulkner of Epic Systems Corp., spoke about her company and answered questions recently at the Department of Biomedical Informatics weekly online seminar.
Grant supports speedy sorting of health records by phenotype
Feb. 11, 2021—Wei-Qi Wei, MD, PhD, assistant professor of Biomedical Informatics and scientific director of the Precision Phenotyping Core at the Center for Precision Medicine, has been awarded a four-year, $1.7 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (grant GM139891) to continue
Ancker named vice chair for Educational Affairs in the Department of Biomedical Informatics
Feb. 11, 2021—Health informatics expert and educator Jessica Ancker, PhD, MPH, has joined the Department of Biomedical Informatics as vice chair for Educational Affairs. Ancker comes from Weill Cornell Medical College and Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences, where she was an associate professor.
Building a cohort, the easy way
Jan. 7, 2021—An automated system using keyword searches can help identify candidates for clinical trials on adverse drug reactions.
COVID-associated delays for elective services studied
Dec. 17, 2020—This spring in the U.S., there were widespread delays in elective health care procedures and screenings. Hospitals, in observance of federal guidelines, were, for a time, conserving beds and protective equipment in preparation for a surge in COVID-19 admissions. And, perhaps on a more prolonged basis, patients in many areas of the country stayed away due to anxiety over catching COVID-19 from other patients or their health care team.
