Buffalo Research Innovation in Genomic and Healthcare Technology (BRIGHT) Short-Term Training and Education

Biomedical Informatics is an inherently interdisciplinary field of study that requires researchers to have a knowledge base in numerous domains, including: biology, medicine, public health, ontology, human factors, and data science. This multidisciplinary nature presents as a barrier to precocious students who may have an interest in Biomedical Informatics but lack the prerequisite foundational skills and knowledge. We aim to reduce that barrier to entry with our proposed research education program by equipping undergraduate and master’s students with the skills to enable them to begin their career via graduate education or workforce employment. At the same time, we need a special focus on increasing excellence for our learners. We propose a 12-week Buffalo Research Innovation in Genomic and Healthcare Technology (BRIGHT) short-term training and education program at the University at Buffalo’s Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences in the Department of Biomedical Informatics. Every year this program will host 12 top undergraduate and master’s candidates for intensive training in Biomedical Informatics and Data Science involving didactics, hands-on research, and career development activities. Our overall objective is to recruit and train the best undergraduate and masters’ students to prepare them for future careers in Biomedical Informatics and Data Science.