University of Utah Biomedical Informatics Training Grant

The University of Utah will further its mission of educating the next generation of informatics scientists, capable of advancing health science and practice by the application of informatics to research and discovery, and by building effective collaborative partnerships. In this renewal application of our internationally recognized NLM T15 training program for years 26-30, we outline the plan for continued adaptation and evolution of our program to a rapidly changing scientific environment, yet tailored to the needs of each trainee. We provide a strong informatics foundation and a mission that builds on four focus areas: Health Care/Clinical Informatics, Clinical Research Informatics, Public Health Informatics, and Translational Bioinformatics. Woven through these focus areas are strong methodology tracks and focus research threads. UofU Department of Biomedical Informatics and our partners, Intermountain Healthcare and the regional Veterans Administration Medical Center, are national leaders in Informatics and are supported by relationships with the Utah Department of Health, twelve partner clinics in rural, frontier or other low socioeconomic communities, and a statewide nonprofit health information exchange (UHIN). These environments, together with the instruction of the responsible conduct of research and methods for enhancing reproducibility, provide ample opportunities to practice team science through hands-on integrated learning activities, applications, and practicum-based courses in the curriculum that greatly enhance the impact and rigor of the program. This ensures our trainees will be fully equipped with the requisite command of theory, mastery of skills, and deep knowledge base required to drive interdisciplinary projects forward.