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Master of Science in Biomedical Informatics

About the Program

The M.S. program in biomedical informatics is designed to meet the rapidly growing need for professionals in the field with preparation that integrates technological expertise in informatics, computer science, bioscience and mathematical statistics with a knowledge of the clinical environment in the health care professions. By “biomedical informatics,” we mean the development and application of methods for acquiring, representing, retrieving and analyzing biomedical knowledge and data.

The program will feature a sequence of courses specifically designed to bring together clinicians and researchers in teams, applying new developments in informatics theory to clinical practice. This new program is supported by our collaborators including the University of Arizona College of Medicine, Phoenix Program, Mayo Clinic, Barrow Neurological Institute and Banner Health. This approach will make the M.S. program in biomedical informatics at ASU distinctive, if not unique, among biomedical informatics programs in the United States.

An applicant to the M.S. program in biomedical informatics should have earned a bachelor’s degree in computer science, biology, physiology, psychology, nursing, statistics, engineering or a related field. We will also consider student applicants who have earned degrees in other unrelated fields with appropriate academic backgrounds. However, all applicants must have basic competencies in college-level calculus, general biology (or physiology), statistics and basic computer programming. The applicant’s undergraduate GPA and depth of preparation in their field are the primary factors affecting admission.

Graduates from this program will:

The Department of Biomedical Informatics is located at the Phoenix Biomedical Campus of the Arizona university system in downtown Phoenix.

All students will take four required courses within their first three semesters and four elective courses that will support their areas of specialization.

Areas of specialization include:

Bioinformatics
Bioinformatics focuses on the development and application of computational tools for the analysis of biomedical data (such as genomic and proteomic information) as well as the study of biological systems. Bioinformatics applications include algorithms, databases and modeling of biological phenomena.

Clinical Informatics
Clinical informaticians work to develop novel information technology, computer science and knowledge management methodologies for disease prevention, treatment, more efficient and safer patient care delivery and knowledge access. This area of specialization requires close collaboration among clinicians, biomedical and computational scientists, knowledge management professionals, educators and health care consumers.

Cognitive Sciences
Cognitive Science is a multidisciplinary field that borrows theories and methods from computer science, cognitive psychology, linguistics, philosophy and cognitive anthropology. Research in medical cognition is devoted to the study of medical decision-making, cognitive foundations of health behaviors and the effective use of computer-based information technologies. The research has particular focus on the analysis of medical error, models of naturalistic problem solving and decision-making, development and use of clinical guidelines and evaluation of human-computer interactions. The research is guided by a concern for improving performance of individuals and teams in the health care system. Towards this end, the focus will be on the cognitive characteristics involved in learning, instruction and in the design of decision-support and other health information technologies for safe use in clinical environments.

Imaging Informatics
Imaging informatics (application of biomedical informatics methods to problems related to tissues and organ systems) focuses on the development of information technology and computational tools to manage and analyze biomedical images (such as radiological films, CAT scans, pathology/microscopy or surgical simulation environments) to support decision-making processes for patient care as well as knowledge discovery in biomedicine.

Public Health Informatics
This specialization integrates public health with information technology for the systematic application of information and computer sciences to public health practice, research and learning. The development of this field and dissemination of informatics knowledge and expertise to public health professionals is the key to unlocking the potential of information systems to improve the health of the nation.

A typical program of study will resemble the following:

Semester I
BMI 501 Introduction to Biomedical Informatics (3 credits)
BMI 502 Foundations of Biomedical Informatics Methods I (3 credits)
BMI Elective (3 credits)

Semester II
BMI 505 Foundations of Biomedical Informatics Methods II (3 credits)
BMI Elective (3 credits)
BMI Elective (3 credits)

Semester III
BMI 540 Problem Solving in Biomedical Informatics (3 credits)
BMI Elective (3 credits)
BMI 592 Research (3 credits)

Semester IV
BMI Elective (3 credits)
BMI 592 Research (3 credits)

Outside Electives

• CBS 520 Modeling and Computational Biology
• EDT 704 Emerging Technologies and Education
• HSM 522 Health Sector Information and Knowledge Management
• CSE 572 Data Mining