Department of Biomedical Informatics Archives
Study shows gene-drug interactions are common
Sep. 2, 2021—When a drug or combination of drugs causes different responses in different people, genetic variation is often at play. Pharmacogenomics, through discovery of genetic risk and use of clinical genotyping, aims to reduce trial-and-error approaches to drug prescribing.
Certain drug exposures correlate with reduced COVID severity: study
Aug. 12, 2021—Analyzing electronic health records (EHR) of 9,748 patients diagnosed with COVID-19, Cosmin Bejan, PhD, Elizabeth Phillips, MD, and colleagues at Vanderbilt University Medical Center asked whether COVID disease severity correlated with any drugs that happened to be taken by these patients in the months leading up to their diagnosis.
Gene variant linked to unnecessary bone marrow biopsies in African Americans
Jun. 28, 2021—A gene variant that lowers white blood cell levels and is common in individuals with African ancestry contributes to unnecessary bone marrow biopsies, according to a study published June 28 in JAMA Internal Medicine.
Drug allergy labels in medical records power searches for gene-drug associations
Jun. 17, 2021— by Paul Govern A meta-analysis published in 1998 in the Journal of the American Medical Association estimated that, leaving aside overdoses and cases of drug abuse, 2.2 million patients admitted to U.S. hospitals in 1994 (6.7% of the total) were either admitted due to a serious adverse drug reaction or had a serious ADR...
Award recognizes hands-on contributions to health IT at VUMC
Jun. 9, 2021—Chetan Aher, MD, assistant professor of Surgery, and Wael Alrifai, MD, assistant professor of Pediatrics and Biomedical Informatics, are the inaugural winners of the Physician Builder Award, sponsored by the Vanderbilt Clinical Informatics Center (VCLIC). They received trophies made from Lego building blocks and gift certificates.
Rosenbloom appointed to National Library of Medicine’s Biomedical Informatics, Library and Data Sciences Review Committee
May. 18, 2021—Trent Rosenbloom, MD, MPH, professor and vice chair of Faculty Affairs in the Department of Biomedical Informatics, has been appointed to the National Library of Medicine’s (NLM) Biomedical Informatics, Library and Data Sciences (BILDS) Review Committee.
Clinical informatics program named HIMSS Approved Education Partner
May. 18, 2021—Vanderbilt’s Master of Science in Applied Clinical Informatics program (MSACI) was recently named an Approved Education Partner (AEP) by the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS). Vanderbilt’s Department of Biomedical Informatics (DBMI) and the School of Nursing also received HIMSS AEP approval.
Strength in numbers
May. 3, 2021—Voluntary data sharing across a region’s health systems and ambulatory care practices is important for measuring and improving health care quality and safety, Vanderbilt researchers report.
Malin appointed to CDC’s Board of Scientific Counselors
Apr. 29, 2021—Bradley Malin, PhD, professor of Biomedical Informatics, Biostatistics and Computer Science, has been appointed to the Board of Scientific Counselors (BSC) of the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) through 2024.
Recognition initiative shares patients’ praise of VUMC employees
Apr. 28, 2021—A significant focus of Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s mission is “Personalizing the patient experience through our caring spirit and remarkable capabilities.”
Extracting accurate COVID data from scanned forms
Apr. 19, 2021—A switch to paper forms during the COVID-19 pandemic might have hobbled research, but using software with a novel user interface made it possible to accurately extract information from scanned forms.
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).
