Overview

The Department

The Department of Biomedical Informatics (DBMI) at the University of Pittsburgh serves as a dynamic academic unit within the School of Medicine. DBMI not only functions as a center for clinical data services but also collaborates with UPMC, one of the largest integrated health systems in the United States, to assess and enhance clinical decision support. Building on a five-decade history of innovation in biomedical informatics and AI at Pitt, DBMI bridges biomedical discovery, data infrastructure and clinical practice to enhance health and healthcare.

Collaboration With Other Departments, Schools and CMU

Faculty and students work in a highly collaborative environment spanning machine learning, clinical data science, natural language processing, causal discovery and trustworthy AI. The BMI&AI training program partners closely with clinical departments within the School of Medicine (e.g., developing machine learning-based intraoperative neuromonitoring with the Department of Neurosurgery), other health sciences schools (e.g., refining deep learning models for health equity with the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences; and building deep learning and causal inference models to identify molecular biomarkers and predict drug sensitivity in precision oncology with the UPMC Hillman Cancer Center), computing and engineering schools (e.g., developing a machine learning-based critical care alerting system with the Department of Computer Science), and with Carnegie Mellon University. Through these partnerships, DBMI translates advances in biomedical informatics and AI into tangible, real-world impact.

The National Library of Medicine T15 Training Program

The Biomedical Informatics Training Program has been supported by a National Library of Medicine training grant since 1987, making it one of the earliest such programs in the United States. Pitt faculty and trainees have made pioneering contributions to AI-assisted medical reasoning and clinical decision-making, including foundational work on INTERNIST-1 and Quick Medical Reference (QMR) that laid the scientific groundwork for modern computerized clinical decision support.

Training Opportunities

We offer a diverse range of educational and training opportunities to support students at various stages of their academic journey. Our graduate-level programs include PhD, MS, and certificate programs, along with advanced research training pathways such as the Postdoctoral Research Program, MD/PhD program and the Physician-Scientist Training Program (PSTP). In addition, we have a strong collaboration with the Intelligent Systems Program (ISP) in the School of Computing and Information, which provides PhD and MS training in biomedical informatics with an emphasis on computer science.

For undergraduate students, we offer a 10-week research internship through the Artificial Intelligence, Biomedical Informatics and Data Science (AIBIDS) program, in which students work under the guidance of a faculty mentor at Pitt or Gallaudet University.

For high school students, we offer immersive summer learning experiences that introduce foundational concepts in biomedical informatics and AI through the Computer Science, Biology and Biomedical Informatics (CoSBBI) Summer Academy.

Funding

Our trainees are well supported. National Library of Medicine training fellowships are available to eligible students (U.S. citizens and permanent residents); others are supported through grant-funded research. All positions include health insurance and competitive stipends.

Breadth of Faculty Mentors

Our training program faculty bring expertise across AI methods, including symbolic AI, probabilistic AI, machine learning, causal inference, generative AI, deep learning, bioinformatics, imaging informatics and human-computer interaction. BMI&AI faculty apply these diverse skill sets to research spanning clinical informatics, clinical research informatics, population health informatics, translational bioinformatics and imaging informatics, applied to clinical domains such as anesthesiology, neurology, pediatrics, critical care, oncology, and infectious diseases.