Biomedical and Health Informatics

School/College: College of Engineering & Applied Science, Medical College of Wisconsin

Department links

Biomedical and Health Informatics Web site

Program Faculty

Degrees Conferred:

• PhD in Biomedical and Health Informatics

Contents

• Graduate Faculty
• Doctor of Philosophy in Biomedical and Health Informatics

Overview

The PhD in Biomedical and Health Informatics is an interdisciplinary doctoral program offered by UWM through collaboration between several academic units at UWM and the Medical College of Wisconsin. The Program is housed in the UWM Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. It is guided by a Steering Committee consisting of faculty from the academic units participating in the Program.

Biomedical and health informatics is a field that is concerned with the cognitive, information processing, and communication aspects of medicine and healthcare including the information sciences and technology to support these tasks. The field covers the application of information technology in clinical medicine, medical record keeping, medical instrumentation, and healthcare management.

The main goal of the PhD program is to prepare graduates to perform advanced research in the discipline and to assume leadership roles in medical and healthcare industries. The degree is philosophically conceptualized as involving several disciplines in a collaborative learning process with the goal of fostering inter-professional interactions and inquiry. This degree will build upon existing graduate programs and research in the participating units. Qualified students with strong academic records in any of these programs will be considered for admission.

Other participating units:

• College of Health Sciences
• College of Nursing
• Lubar School of Business
• School of Information Studies
• Zilber School of Public Health
• The Medical College of Wisconsin

Graduate Faculty

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The program faculty for this interdisciplinary program come from the Medical College of Wisconsin and several academic units at UWM.

Medical College of Wisconsin

Professors

Jacob, Howard, Ph.D., University of Iowa

Kahn, Jr., Charles E., M.D., University of Illinois College of Medicine, Chicago

Associate Professors

Farrell, Michael, M.D., Saint Louis University

Weigle, Carl G.M., M.D., Albany Medical College

Wilson, Charles R., M.D., Albany Medical College

Assistant Professors

Scanlon, Matthew, M.D., Loyola Strich School of Medicine

Shimoyama, Mary, Ph.D. University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

Professors

Jain, Hemant (Lubar School of Business), Ph.D., Lehigh University

Hosseini, Hossein (College of Engineering and Applied Science), Ph.D., University of Iowa

Lang, Norma (College of Nursing), Ph.D., Marquette University

Lundeen, Sally (College of Nursing), Ph.D., University of Illinois- Chicago

McRoy, Susan (College of Engineering and Applied Science), Ph.D., University of Toronto

Munson, Ethan (College of Engineering and Applied Science), Ph.D., University of California-Berkeley

Misra, Devendra (College of Engineering and Applied Science), Ph.D., Michigan State University

Mone, Mark A. (Lubar School of Business), Ph.D., Washington State University

Ramamurthy, K. (Lubar School of Business), Ph.D. University of Pittsburgh

Soofi, Ehsan S. (Lubar School of Business), Ph.D., University of California-Riverside

Tonellato, Peter (Zilber School of Public Health), Ph.D.

Wolfram, Dietmar (School of Information Studies), Ph.D. University of Western Ontario

Zahedi, Fatemeh (Lubar School of Business), D.B.A., Indiana University

Zhang, Jin (School of Information Studies), Ph.d University of Pittsburgh

Zhang, Jun (College of Engineering and Applied Science), Ph.D., Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Associate Professors

Coenen, Amy (College of Nursing), Ph.D., University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

Dimitroff, Alexandra (School of Information Studies) Ph.D. University of Michigan

D'Souza, Roshan (College of Engineering & Applied Science) Ph.D. University of California Berkeley

Goyal, Mukul (College of Engineering and Applied Science), Ph.D., Ohio State University

Klemer, David (College of Engineering and Applied Science), Ph.D., University of Michigan, M.D. Columbia University

Law, Chiu-Tai (College of Engineering and Applied Science), Ph.D., Purdue University

Mali, Amol (College of Engineering and Applied Science), Ph.D., Arizona State University

Nazareth, Derek (Lubar School of Business), Ph.D., Case Western Reserve University

Patrick, Timothy (College of Health Sciences), Ph.D., University of Missouri-Columbia

Wu, Min (College of Health Sciences), Ph.D., University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Xu, Guangwu (College of Engineering and Applied Science), Ph.D., State University of New York-Buffalo

Ying, Lei (College of Engineering and Applied Science), Ph.D., University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Yu, Hong (College of Health Sciences), Ph.D., Columbia University

Zhao, Huimin (Lubar School of Business), Ph.D., University of Arizona

Zhao, Tian (College of Engineering and Applied Science), Ph.D., Purdue University

Assistant Professors

Abbasi, Ahmed (Lubar School of Business), Ph.D., University of Arizona

Bockhorst, Joseph (College of Engineering and Applied Science), Ph.D., University of Wisconsin-Madison

Bartholomew, Karla (Zilber School of Public Health), Ph.D, J.D., Vanderbilt University

Choi, Jeeyae (College of Nursing), DNSc, Columbia University

Davies, Karen (School of Information Studies), Ph.D. Loughborough University

Hu Yi (College of Engineering and Applied Science), Ph.D., University of Texas at Dallas

Kate, Rohit (College of Health Sciences) Ph. D, University of Texas at Austin

Kim, Tae Youn (College of Nursing), Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania

Prasad, Rashmi (College of Health Sciences), Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania

Yu, Zeyun (College of Engineering and Applied Science), Ph.D., University of Texas-Austin

Doctor of Philosophy in Biomedical and Health Informatics

Admission

An applicant must meet the UWM Graduate School requirements as well as the following to be considered for admission to the program:

Master's degree in biomedical and health informatics or a related area such as Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Health Sciences, Business Administration, Nursing; or an MD degree. Exceptionally strong candidates with Bachelor's degree in a related area will also be considered for admission.

1. At least two letters of recommendation that attest to academic and/or professional qualifications.
2. Scores from the GRE (general) or GMAT or MCAT (test taken within the last five years.)

For applicants who intend to satisfy the English proficiency requirement by submission of test scores, a score of at least 250 on the computer-based (or 600 on the paper-based) Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) is required. A score of 6.5 on the international English Language Testing Systems (IELTS) examination will be required in lieu of the TOEFL.

The application for admission should be filed directly with the Graduate School, along with the statement of professional interest. Letters of recommendation, standardized test scores should be sent to:

Co Director

Biomedical and Health Informatics Program

College of Engineering and Applied Science

University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

Milwaukee, WI 53201

Requests for financial support must also be submitted to the above person.

Major Professor as Advisor

The Graduate School requires that the student have a major professor to advise, supervise and approve the program of study before registering for courses. The Biomedical and Health Informatics Steering Committee will assign the incoming student to a temporary Program Advisor at the time of admission. Prior to the completion of 12 credit (9 credits for a part-time student), the student must select a major professor who will be the student's dissertation advisor. The student, in consultation with the major professor, develops a program of study which is submitted to the Biomedical and Health Informatics Steering Committee for approval. For subsequent changes, the student must file a revised program of study for approval.

Doctoral Program Committee

The Doctoral Program Committee is proposed by the Major Professor in consultation with the student by the end of the student's first year of enrollment. The Program Committee, subject to the approval of the Biomedical and Health Informatics Steering Committee, shall consist of the Major Professor and at least four graduate faculty members, including at least one with health care and/or medical background, and one with informatics background.

Areas of Concentration

The PhD program requires a student to follow one of the following five areas of concentration. (At the time of application, each applicant should indicate a preferred area of concentration in their statement of Reasons for Graduate Study.)

Knowledge Based Systems Track

The Knowledge Based Systems track is designed to train students in the development of techniques to support decision-making in medical practice (including both clinical and administrative decision-making) and customized instruction on health and medical topics for patients and health care providers. Technical areas include decision analysis, expected utility theory and cost-effectiveness analysis, computer-based decision support systems, user modeling and user interface design, intelligent tutoring systems, knowledge representation, structured reporting, and data mining and knowledge discovery.

Health Services Management & Policy Track

Health services management and policy research is broad in scope and touches on all of the standard functional business areas (e.g., management, strategy and marketing, finance/economics, management information systems, human resources management) in addition to government health policy/reimbursement/regulation, insurance and other payer mechanisms, dealing with health professionals, and illness/health in individuals and in populations. The track is designed to equip students to deal with both management information and with population health and illness information and research to understand the implications of such information and research, and to transform inferences from that information and research into practical recommendations on the national, state, and local level. By its nature, it is applied to health services settings including hospitals, skilled-nursing facilities, medical group practices, public health agencies, mental health services, managed care organizations, and integrated health networks.

Health Information Systems Track

The track in Health Information Systems is designed to explore the role of administrative and clinical information systems in health care organizations. Attention will be directed at the design, implementation, and maintenance of the broad array of computer applications used in the health care industry. An interdisciplinary approach will be taken drawing on expertise from the health professions, management information systems, and library and information science. Curricular content will range from systems analysis and design, system efficacy and management, to e-commerce.

Medical Imaging and Instrumentation Track

The track in Medical Imaging and Instrumentation is designed to train students in understanding and developing medical imaging systems and medical electronic instrumentation. The aspects emphasized in this track are medical imaging systems, image processing, computer vision, pattern recognition, medical instrumentation development and optimization, computer modeling, applications of electric and magnetic fields, and wireless communication.

Public Health Informatics Track

The Public Health Informatics track is designed to train students in the development of techniques, methods and tools to conduct public health research and to provide public health programs and tools for practical use. Graduates of this track will also be able to provide customized instruction on public health and related biomedical topics for public health workers, the public and others such as those in public health policy who will benefit from public health informatics. Technical areas include databases, tools and techniques for acquiring, processing, warehousing, and analyzing public health data. Other areas of expertise include utility theory and cost-effectiveness analysis, computer-based decision support systems, user modeling and user interface design, intelligent tutoring systems, structured reporting, and data mining.

Credits and Courses

Students enrolled in this program must follow all UWM Graduate School requirements and regulations. The minimum requirement for the PhD in Biomedical and Health Informatics will be 61-67 credits beyond the bachelor's degree. Up to 24 credits from a related master's degree may be applied toward the PhD.

The curriculum will consist of a common set of core courses for all tracks, required and elective courses for each individual track, and the dissertation. The purpose of the core is to ensure that all graduates of the program share a basic common knowledge in biomedical and health informatics. The purpose of the tracks is to enable the students to develop significant strengths in specific sub-areas within biomedical and health informatics. The courses identified in the curriculum are offered by UWM or MCW and, in some case, by both institutions. Following are descriptions of these components and their corresponding credit requirements.

Core Courses

The core courses provide a comprehensive structure for the foundations needed for all students in biomedical and health informatics irrespective of their special interests. This includes a series of seminars that deal with different aspects of biomedical and health informatics. All students must take the following core courses or must have taken equivalent courses in previous study.

Core Courses (16 to 20 credits)

MCW 13200(A,B) Medical Informatics, 6 quarter cr OR UWM HCA 700 Health Care Informatics, 4-2 cr

UWM CLSci701 and CLSci702 Human Pathophysiology, 6 cr

MCW/UWM CompSci 870 Medical Informatics Seminar, (Four 1-credit seminars), 4 cr

UWM CompSci 557 or Bus Adm 749 Data Bases, 3 cr

MCW 12202 Medical Ethics, 1 cr OR UWM Bus Adm 795 or HCA XXX (being developed), 1 cr

Knowledge Based Systems Track

33 credits of course work and 12 credits of dissertation are required.

Required Track Courses (12 Credits)

Comp Sci 535: Data Structures, 3 cr

Comp Sci 710: Artificial Intelligence, 3 cr

Comp Sci XXX: Data Mining in Medicine, 3 cr

Comp Sci 743: Intelligent User Interfaces, 3 cr

Required Mathematics & Quantitative Methods (6 credits)

Statistics (3 credits from the following list)

Bus Adm 795: Seminar-in-Management: Multivariate Techniques in Management Research, 3 cr

Bus Adm 912: Statistical Methods for Management Research, 3 cr

Ed Psy 624: Educational Statistical Methods I, 3 cr

Ind Eng/OccThpy/Nurs 786: Applied Biostatistics in Ergonomics, 3 cr

Math 767: Statistical Methods for Engineers and Scientists, 3 cr

Math Stat 761: Mathematical Statistics I, 3 cr

Probability (3 credits from the following list)

Econ 413: Statistics for Economists, 3 cr

Math 771: Theory of Probability, 3 cr

Elective Track Courses (15 Credits)

Dissertation (Minimum of 12 Credits)

Comp Sci 998: Doctoral Thesis, credits vary

Health Services Management & Policy Track

33 credits of course work and 12 credits of dissertation are required.

Required Track Courses (18 Credits)

Bus Adm 755: Health Care Administration, 3 cr

Bus Adm 757: Managed Care and Integrated Health Networks, 3 cr

Nurs 727: Epidemiology, 3 cr

Bus Adm 744: Management of Information Systems, 3 cr

Bus Adm 996: Doctoral Seminar in Organizations: Essential Topics in Strategic Management, 3 cr

Bus Adm 996: Doctoral Seminar in Organizations: Advanced Topics in Strategic Management, 3 cr

Required Mathematics and/or Quantitative Methods (6 Credits)

Bus Adm 918: Doctoral Seminar in Behavioral Research Techniques, 3 cr AND Bus Adm 795: Multivariate Techniques in Management Research, 3 cr

OR

Econ 513: Econometrics, 3 cr AND Econ 710: Applied Econometrics, 3 cr

Elective Track Courses (9 Credits)

Dissertation (Minimum of 12 Credits)

Bus Adm 997: Doctoral Dissertation, credits vary

Health Information Systems Track

35 credits of course work and 12 credits of dissertation are required.

Required Track Courses (20 Credits)

Bus Adm 744: Management of Information Systems, 3 cr

Bus Adm 747: Systems Analysis and Design, 3 cr

Comp Sci XXX/MCW XXX: Introduction to Medical Decision Making, 3 cr

HCA 721: Health Information Technology Procurement, 2 cr

HCA 723: Health Care Systems Applications - Administrative and Clinical, 3 cr

HCA XXX: Advanced Concepts in Health Care Systems, 3 cr

Comp Sci 759: Data Security, 3 cr

OR

Bus Adm 893: Infrastructure for Electronic Business, 3 cr

Research Methods (3 Credits from the following)

Ind Eng 716: Engineering Statistical Analysis, 3 cr

Ind Eng/OccThpy/Nurs 786: Applied Biostatistics in Ergonomics, 3 cr

Bus Adm 714: Multivariate Techniques in Management Research, 3 cr

Bus Adm 795: Seminar-in-Management: Multivariate Techniques in Management Research, 3 cr

Bus Adm 912: Statistical Methods for Management Research, 3 cr

Bus Adm 918: Doctoral Seminar in Behavioral Research Techniques, 3 cr

Bus Adm 995: Doctoral Seminar in Decision Sciences, 3 cr

Nurs 882: Qualitative Approaches to Nursing Research, 3 cr

Nurs 883: Quantitative Approaches to Nursing Research, 3 cr

Elective Track Courses (12 Credits)

Dissertation (Minimum of 12 Credits)

Comp Sci 998: Doctoral Thesis, credits vary

Medical Imaging & Instrumentation Track

33 credits of course work & 12 credits of dissertation are required

Required Track Courses (18 Credits)

Elec Eng 436: Introduction to Medical Instrumentation, 3 cr

Elec Eng 437: Introduction to Biomedical Imaging, 3 cr

Elec Eng 711/ Comp Sci 711: Pattern Recognition Statistical, Neural and Fuzzy Approaches, 3 cr

Elec Eng 712/COMPSCI712: Image Processing, 3 cr

Elec Eng XXX: Advanced Medical Instrumentation, 3 cr

Elec Eng 890/COMPSCI790: Special Topics in Medical Signal Processing and Imaging, 3 cr

Elective Track Courses (15 Credits)

Dissertation (Minimum of 12 Credits)

Doctoral Thesis

Elec Eng 998, credits vary

Public Health Informatics Track

31 credits of track courses and 12 credits of dissertation are required

Required Track Courses (9 credits)

PH 701 Public Health Principles and Practice, 3 cr

PH 735 Public Health Informatics, 3cr

COMPSCI 535 Algorithm Design and Analysis, 3cr

Required Statistics & Quantitative Methods (10 credits)

PH 710 Biostatistics I, 4cr

PH 713 Design and Research in Public Health, 3cr

PH 719 Advanced Biostatistical Computing, 3cr

Elective Track Courses (12 credits)

Computing and Applications (6 credits from the following list)

PH 721 Clinical Trials, 3cr

PH 740 Public Health Special Topics (Varying credits), 1-3 cr

BUS ADM 741 Decision Support Systems and Groupware, 3cr

BUS ADM 995 Doctoral Seminar in Decision Sciences, 3cr

BUS ADM 998 Doctoral Seminar in Management Information Systems, 3cr

COMPSCI 469 Introduction to Computer Security, 3cr

COMPSCI 710 Artificial Intelligence, 3cr

COMPSCI 711/ELECENG 711 Pattern Recognition, 3cr

COMPSCI 720 Computational Models of Decision Making, 3cr

COMPSCI 722 Artificial Intelligence Planning Techniques, 3cr

COMPSCI 723 Natural Language Processing, 3cr

COMPSCI 743 Intelligent User Interfaces, 3cr

COMPSCI 747 Human-Computer Interaction, 3cr

COMPSCI 757 Database Organization and File Structure, cr

COMPSCI 780 Multimedia Systems, 3cr

COMPSCI 810 Knowledge Representation, 3cr

COMPSCI 790 Advanced Topics in Computer Science, 3cr

ED PSY 631 Cognition Learning, Problem Solving and Thinking, 3cr

HCA 760 Biomedical and Healthcare Terminology and Ontology, 3cr

Quantitative Analysis (6 credits from the following list)

PH 704 Principles and Methods of Epidemiology, 3cr

PH 711 Biostatistics II, 4cr

PH 712 Biostatistics III, 4cr

ED PSY 823 Structural Equation Modeling, 3cr

ED PSY 824 Advanced Experimental Design and Analysis, 3cr

ED PSY 825 Multiple Regression and Multivariate Methods, 3cr

ED PSY 826 Analysis of Cross-Classified Categorical Data, 3cr

MTHSTAT 762 Mathematical Statistics, 3cr

COMPSCI 760 Computer Systems Performance Evaluation, 3cr

Dissertation (Minimum of 12 Credits)

COMPSCI 998 Doctoral Thesis (variable credits)

Residence

The student must meet Graduate School residence requirements.

Qualifying Examination

A qualifying examination must be taken to determine whether the student is qualified to perform advanced doctoral level work in biomedical and health informatics. This examination is administered by the steering committee and must be taken prior to the completion of 21 credits of course work in the program.

Doctoral Preliminary Examination

The student is also required to take a preliminary examination after all the course work is completed and prior to the advancement of candidacy to determine the student's preparation for independent research. Prior to the examination, the student must present a proposal for a doctoral dissertation. The preliminary examination may cover both graduate course material and the dissertation proposal. The preliminary examination must be successfully completed within five years of initial enrollment.

Dissertation

The candidate must complete a dissertation presenting independent original research that adds to the existing body of knowledge in biomedical and health informatics. It should be of such caliber that warrants publication in respected journals.

Dissertation Defense

The final oral examination will be an oral defense of the dissertation but may also cover the general field of the primary area of study. The examination may not be taken until all other degree requirements are satisfied. A majority of the examination committee members must approve the dissertation in order for the student to pass. The final oral examination must be taken within five years after passing the preliminary examination. Candidates who exceed this time limit may be required to retake the preliminary examination and be admitted to candidacy a second time.

Time Limit

All components of the PhD program must be completed within 10 years of matriculation.