Biomedical informatics (BMI) is the interdisciplinary, scientific field that studies and pursues the effective uses of biomedical data, information, and knowledge for scientific inquiry, problem solving and decision-making, motivated by efforts to improve human health. As biomedical and clinical research becomes increasingly data intensive (large volumes and wide varieties, e.g., genetic, imaging, clinical, economic, environmental, behavioral, patient reported), and requires collaboration across many communities, including healthcare, research, and public health, Biomedical Informatics becomes a critical piece of solution for enabling and advancing clinical and translational science.
At CSTR’s Biomedical Informatics Center (BIC), we perform advanced informatics research, ranging from deep theoretical investigations (e.g., relation of biomedicine and data-information-knowledge), to state-of-the-art technologies and applications (e.g., mobile health, i2b2, semantic web, big data analytics). Additionally, we provide collaborative opportunities for using informatics across the entire spectrum of translational research activities, in support of pre-clinical and clinical research, as well as community engagement, user training, and education.
Our research interests and activities include:
- Perform advanced informatics research to understand theoretical and technological barriers that hinder biomedical and clinical translations, and explore potential solutions focusing on ontology and semantics.
- Integrate data from different sources such as bioinformatics and clinical databases, research datasets, sensors, mobile technology, social media, patient generated data and publically available data sources, structured and unstructured.
- Perform informatics research in machine learning, data mining, data visualization, and statistics, providing integrated biomedical support for big data analytics throughout the CSTR Institute and our research affiliates.
- Engage in consultation, education and training of investigators in data collection requirements, database design, data mining and data-mining technology, data management tools, preparation for analysis, and use of omics software for complex biomedical datasets.
- Collaborate with the Texas Regional CTSA Consortium, national CTSAs and informatics software user communities to develop generalizable solutions/tools to biomedical informatics problems in translational science.
Visit the faculty listing below to learn more about our faculty research interests and areas of expertise:
Biomedical Informatics Faculty Listing >>
Contact us:
BIC has physical presence in both College Station/Bryan (Reynolds Building) and Houston (Alkek Building). To contact us:
Shantria Rush
Administrative Coordinator
Phone: (713) 677-7561
Email: rush@medicine.tamhsc.edu
Address: 2121 Holcombe Blvd. Ste.1109, Houston, TX77030