Biomedical Informatics

Overview

A key component of the PhD program is the completion of a dissertation, which develops the student's research skill and domain expertise.

The Biomedical Informatics PhD program provides a very deep research experience while ensuring breadth in the theoretical foundations of Biomedical Informatics. Graduates will refine research skills in order to conduct independent research projects of a scope suitable for several journal publications. This work will culminate in a PhD dissertation. Students will learn a broad set of knowledge in the Department's three areas of concentration: Clinical Informatics; Bioinformatics; and Population/Public Health Informatics. In addition, students will come to understand the practice of biomedical informatics through structured interactions with practitioners at all levels. Upon completion students will be prepared to engage research or advanced development work at the range of academic, government, and commercial positions that require a very strong research background in biomedical informatics.

Learning Outcomes

• possess a broad understanding of the theory and practice of the field of Biomedical Informatics;
• possess very considerable depth in one specific area of biomedical informatics research in one of the three concentration areas, or in their intersection, offered by our program;
• be able to generate hypothesis-driven research approaches, based on sound research design and statistical principles, to timely, real-world problems in commercial, public, or academic settings;
• have a sufficient grasp of the fundamentals of biomedical informatics such that they could undertake a postdoctoral or Assistant Professor position at any of the outstanding biomedical medical informatics programs offered throughout the country;
• be able to critically evaluate the biomedical informatics literature and assess the quality and applicability of the research it describes;
• have excellent technical writing skills such that they themselves could contribute to the biomedical informatics literature;
• have excellent technical presentation skills such that they could present their work in a variety of professional venues.