Mission

The mission of the Department of Biomedical Informatics is:

To fundamentally advance biomedical informatics research through radical innovation and rigorous experimentation, with a sustained emphasis on artificial intelligence (AI) research

To effectively translate biomedical informatics research into practice, thereby expanding biomedical knowledge and improving human health

To prepare trainees to become outstanding leaders in biomedical informatics research, education and practice through world-class training focused on the development, application and evaluation of AI and informatics methods for biomedical problems

 What is biomedical informatics?

Biomedical informatics studies how to move meaningfully from data (raw, unprocessed facts) to information (data interpreted within a context) to knowledge (validated and organized information) to intelligence (knowledge applied analytically to support strategic reasoning) and to wisdom (the capacity to exercise sound judgment in applying intelligence to real-world problems). To do so, biomedical informatics draws on computational methods from mathematics, computer science, AI and engineering; behavioral and cognitive methods from cognitive science and the social and behavioral sciences; and policy and ethical frameworks from law and bioethics. Biomedical informatics operates across the entire biological spectrum, from genes, proteins, molecules, cells, tissues and organs to individuals and populations, with the goals of advancing biomedical discovery, enhancing health care delivery and preventing diseases.