Community Partnerships for Enhanced Research Experience in Biomedical Informatics

The Department of BioHealth Informatics at the School of Informatics and Computing, Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) has successfully built strong collaborations and partnerships with local communities. The partners include but not limited to other higher education institutes, biomedical research institutes, healthcare organizations, pharmaceutical companies, government agencies, and other biomedical technology industries. The department drafted a 5-year strategic plan to foster teamwork and practice with community partners, which benefit both faculty and students. The department also recruited members for the BHI community-based advisory boards with diverse backgrounds and different decision making. The advisory board strengthens our programs to meet the industrial needs, promote faculty interactions with local communities, and increase student employment opportunities. Through the weekly BHI seminar series, including colloquium speakers, Ph.D. student work-in-progress reports, and faculty proposal development, BHI faculty have been successful in building new collaborative projects and secure joint grants. Another significant initiative is the establishment of the BioHealth Informatics Research Center (BHIRC), which systematically promotes collaborations among faculty members, students, and external collaborators. Students have enriched research and learning experience from hands-on experience, application-oriented projects, and internships with local companies. The practices and strategic planning can be extended to other informatics disciplines easily.