Education

Informatics has become a major theme and methodology for biomedical science, health care delivery, and public health. Biomedical informatics involves modeling and understanding the cognitive, information processing and communication tasks of biomedical science, medical practice, education and research. At DBMI, we have designed multiple programs for students, post-doctorates, and faculty to actively engage and contribute to this community. 

It is our mission to provide a collaborative environment designed to cultivate accomplished researchers by providing multiple outlets for exposure, including attendance at local and national conferences, exclusive seminars and presentations, and the opportunity to network with Harvard-affiliated faculty, fellow students, and alumni. 

Our Educational Programs

PhD in Biomedical Informatics

The Department of Biomedical Informatics offers a PhD in Biomedical Informatics in the areas of Artificial Intelligence in Medicine (AIM) and Bioinformatics and Integrative Genomics (BIG).

• The AIM PhD track, now underway with its inaugural cohort, prepares the next generation of leaders at the intersection of artificial intelligence and medicine. The program’s mission is to train exceptional computational students, harnessing large-scale biomedical data and cutting-edge AI methods, to create new technologies and clinically impactful research that transform medicine around the world, increasing both the quality and equity of health outcomes.
• The BIG PhD track trains future leaders in the field of bioinformatics and genomics. Our mission is to provide BIG graduate students with the tools to conduct original research and the ability to develop novel approaches and new technologies to address fundamental biological questions many of which will facilitate translation solutions to challenging problems in biomedicine and health.

Master of Medical Sciences in Biomedical Informatics

The Master of Medical Sciences in Biomedical Informatics (MMSc-BMI) program trains students to become contributors to the rapidly evolving use of biomedical data for revolutionary advances in scientific inquiry and technological development. This program is created for students who are looking to develop skills in data science in the context of medicine and biological science to improve human health. Through a rigorous combination of core coursework and a year-long full-time thesis research project, our students will graduate with the computational, methodological, and data science skills to contribute to an ongoing revolution in biomedical discovery.

Clinical Informatics Lecture Series

The Harvard Clinical Informatics Lecture Series (HCILS) provides a forum for clinicians and researchers at HMS and beyond to learn the field of clinical informatics. The series addresses core topics in clinical informatics as outlined by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education as well as cutting-edge research being done nationally. This series is designed to change the way clinicians approach clinical informatics problems and provide them with tools to create more successful interventions.

The Susanne E. Churchill Summer Institute in Biomedical Informatics

The Susanne E. Churchill Summer Institute in Biomedical Informatics (SIBMI), which just completed its 20th year, is a nine-week program that offers a combination of didactic classroom lectures with nationally known thought leaders in all areas of biomedical informatics, a mentored research internship, and career counseling for all attendees. Stipend, travel and housing in dorms are provided. Students are carefully matched to research mentors at DBMI according to student/faculty interests and expertise areas and are encouraged to continue their summer projects into the following school year.