Biomedical Informatics Training Program at Stanford

For over four decades, the Stanford Biomedical Informatics (BMI) Training Program has granted PhD and MS degrees to graduates who have made significant contributions to biomedicine and health through data-driven and computationally-derived scientific discoveries and advances. Today, our trainees have access to unprecedented amounts of biomedical data that span our entire biomedical enterprise, and they are empowered by their training in biomedical informatics and data science to advance the biomedical life sciences and improve clinical care. Our proposal for the future of BMI training at Stanford harnesses the opportunity to produce the next generation of researchers who will enable precision medicine through innovations in translational bioinformatics, health care informatics and clinical research informatics. We receive annual support for training 11 pre-doctoral candidates (including two candidates in HIV informatics) and 4 postdoctoral candidates for a period of 5 years. Our trainees benefit from a rich curriculum that consists of specially designed core courses in biomedical informatics and data science, technical electives from companion fields of computer science, statistics, mathematics and engineering, domain electives in biological and clinical sciences, and instruction on the principles of responsible conduct of research and the methods of rigor and reproducible research. Our trainees are provided with outstanding mentored research opportunities offered by 34 investigators who collectively represent 16 departments and divisions across 3 schools at Stanford University. Beginning August 2021, the BMI training program benefited from the establishment of the Department of Biomedical Data Science (DBDS) at Stanford, for which it is now the primary graduate training program. DBDS serves as a critical nexus to increase the education and research opportunities for our BMI trainees. Our environment is well-positioned for such expanded opportunities due to a recent explosion of highly successful initiatives including the Institute for Human-Centered AI (HAI), the Center in Artificial Intelligence in Medicine Imaging (AIMI), and the Center in Digital Health (CDH). In addition, our training covers issues related to responsible AI and data science in research –including rigor, reproducibility, privacy and security. Through these efforts and others, Stanford University remains a fertile environment to advance human health through training in biomedical informatics and data science.