Additional Information
doctor of philosophy in biomedical informatics
About the Program
The Ph.D. program subsumes the requirements of the M.S. core curriculum but also requires the students to select an area of concentration of study in order to prepare graduates to assume advanced informatics research-and-development and leadership roles. The core program features five courses specifically designed to bring together clinicians, biological scientists, and informatics researchers to apply new developments in informatics theory to clinical or biological practice. While foundational coursework for Ph.D. students does not differ significantly from that of M.S. students, the added concentration courses in an area of focus and emphasis on independent research are intended to place these students at the leading edge of the field. We expect applicants to the Ph.D. program to have similar backgrounds to applicants for the M.S. degree, but they must also show evidence of a strong commitment to and potential for research.
Our strong collaborative relationships with a variety of health care organizations as well as bioscience, industry, and governmental agencies provide an unparalleled opportunity for doctoral students to explore and contribute to advances in bioinformatics, informatics related to imaging, clinical medicine, and public health, with special foci on cross-cutting areas such as cognitive science, data mining/predictive modeling, embedded sensors, and simulation.
For information on how to apply and application, visit http://graduate.asu.edu. Please contact sci.advising@asu.edu or 480-965-3199 with questions.
An applicant to the Ph.D. program in Biomedical Informatics should have earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science, Biology, Physiology, Psychology, Nursing, Statistics, Engineering, a clinical discipline (ie. medicine), 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 should have basic competencies in college calculus, general biology, anatomy and physiology, statistics, and computer programming. The applicant’s undergraduate GPA and depth of preparation in their field are the primary factors affecting admission. Every applicant must submit scores for the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) (verbal, quantitative, and analytical required; the subject test is optional) or any other graduate level entry exam. An international student must also submit Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) scores.
The Department of Biomedical Informatics is centered at the Phoenix Biomedical Campus of the Arizona University System in downtown Phoenix.
Graduates from this program will:
- Understand theoretical foundations and current applications of informatics in health sciences and health care delivery systems.
- Understand how to evaluate, select, and deploy informatics solutions in health care sciences and health care delivery systems.
- Understand information management issues and become intelligent users of data management systems.
- Understand how to acquire, convert, and organize biological data into relevant diagnostic, therapeutic, or research information.
- Demonstrate skills in team dynamics, communication, and project management.
- Understand theory and application of information of biomedical informatics standards and lexicons.
- Understand the legal and ethical aspects of biomedical informatics.
- Understand the use of quantitative and qualitative tools for decision support and data analysis.
Required courses: 39 - 45 credits
All students will take the following courses.
- BMI 501 Introduction to Biomedical Informatics (3 cr.)
- BMI 502 Foundations of Biomedical Informatics Methods I (3 cr.)
- BMI 505 Foundations of Biomedical Informatics Methods II (3 cr.)
- BMI 515 Advanced Biostatistical Methods (3 cr.)
- BMI 540 Problem Solving in Biomedical Informatics (3 cr.)
- BMI 792 Research (12 - 18 cr.)
- BMI 799 Thesis (12 cr.)
Elective courses: 39 - 45 credits
Students will select an area of concentration in conjunction with their advisor and choose the elective courses that best support that area. These areas 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 healthcare 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 healthcare 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.
Elective courses in BMI (these include but are not limited to)
- BMI 511 Decision Support and Evidence-based Practice (3 cr.)
- BMI 541 Cognitive Decision Making in Health Care (3 cr.)
- BMI 516 Understanding Biomedical Data (3 cr.)
- BMI 555 Medical Information Management (3 cr.)
- BMI 520 Modeling Gene Regulatory Networks (3 cr.)
- BMI 465 Intro to Comparative Genomics
- BMI 591 Special Topics (3 cr.)
- Other electives from departments outside Biomedical Informatics
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
- BIO 455/BMI 465 Intro to Comparative Genomics