News

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. 

Applications for the 2021-2022 DBMI Catalyzing Informatics Innovation (CI2) program are now open. The CI2 program supports faculty in the development of early-stage, innovative and impactful informatics-based projects that have the potential to improve health, health care, or discovery. CI2 program awardees receive not only modest funding to pursue their proposed project, but they also join a cohort of CI2 Scholars who work closely with faculty and VUMC leadership. 

The application period for candidates who wish to apply to be Fellows of AMIA opened on May 18, 2021, and will be active through July 19, 2021 at 11:59 pm ET.  FAMIA was established by the AMIA board in 2018 in order to recognize members who apply informatics skills and knowledge within their professional setting, who have demonstrated professional achievement and leadership, and who have a sustained commitment to the betterment of AMIA. 

Wael Alrifai, MD, MS, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics and Biomedical Informatics, and Chetan Aher, MD, Assistant Professor of Surgery, 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. 

Kevin Johnson, MD, MS, FAAP, FACMI, DBMI Chair, and Elizabeth Brown, DBMI Chief Business Officer would like to extend their welcome to our newest employees who have joined the department:  Center for Improving the Public's Health through Informatics (CIPHI)

The Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) Department of Biomedical Informatics's (DBMI) monthly newsletter, DBMI Digest, is now available to view. Read the June 2021 issue here.  Each DBMI Digest features department & faculty announcements, awards & appointments, educational & HR updates, funding opportunities and more. Each issue also includes a profile of one of our faculty, staff, postdocs and students. 

Melissa McPheeters, PhD, MPH, Research Professor in Biomedical Informatics and Health Policy and Co-Director of the Center for Improving the Public's Health through Informatics, was featured in an article published by The Verge titled "The Pandemic Showed That Big Tech Isn't a Public Health Savior."  Click to read here. 

On June 1, 2021, faculty and staff from Vanderbilt University Medical Center and the Tennessee Valley Healthcare System published a new study titled "High-Throughput Framework for Genetic Analyses of Adverse Drug Reactions Using Electronic Health Records." The study was published in PLoS Genetics.  The researchers presented a high-throughput framework to efficiently identify eligible patients for genetic studies of adverse drug reactions (ADRs) using “drug allergy” labels from electronic health records (EHRs).

Allison McCoy, PhD, FAMIA, Assistant Professor in DBMI, was featured in the new Women in American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA) monthly newsletter.

Jessica Ancker, PhD, MPH, FACMI, Vice Chair for Educational Affairs and Professor of Biomedical Informatics, will be speaking at the upcoming American College of Preventative Medicine's annual conference on Tuesday, May 18 at 1:00 pm CT. She will be discussing her project, "Evaluating the Comparative Effectiveness of Telemedicine in Primary Care: Learning from the COVID-19 Pandemic."