MI01P Research Elective in Biomedical Informatics
for Medical Students

Description

The student will carry out a research project under the direction of a Biomedical Informatics faculty member. Many projects involve real systems that are used daily for clinical care, research, and administration. The objective is to teach the student about the use of computers and information science in healthcare, and to expose them to current research issues in biomedical informatics. Students should understand that the elective is research-focused, it is not a general introduction to Biomedical Informatics. Students are encouraged to attend departmental seminars and participate in other educational activities. Prerequisites will vary with the specific research project.

Learning Experience

The student will carry out a project in one of the following areas:

1. Clinical Data Augmentation - Exploration of methods for transforming raw
   clinical data into information, knowledge and action.
2. Enhanced Health Care Communication -- Information distribution and visualization techniques
   to improve communication among health care
   providers and patient.
3. Multimedia Health Education -- New methods of concept organization and visual presentation to educate health care providers and patients

Grading/Evaluation

The student will be evaluated by the faculty advisor. The student will prepare a written report of the project (some will result in publication).

Potential Projects

Below is a listing of projects submitted by faculty (in no particular order).

Project	Description	Faculty	Prerequisites
CUPEx: 4 weeks minimum	Digital video-based teaching and learning tool for basics of the physical exam; links to multi-media of all types (sounds, animations, illustrations, video clips, slides, etc.)	Molholt	Knowledge of anatomy and basic web skills.
Vesalius Knowledge base for anatomy: 6 weeks minimum	Collaboration with Computer Science Department downtown, creating an ontology for anatomy based on work done at U of Washington. System to be used to navigate 3-D models of Visible Human dataset.	Molholt	Knowledge of database programming.
Vesalius Image base: 6 weeks minimum	Creating an database of 3-D models created from Visible Human dataset;	Molholt	Knowledge of segmentation algorithms
Electronic Curriculum: 6 weeks minimum	Various projects in pathology, histology, neruoanatomy, neurobiology, etc.	Molholt	Knowledge of web tools such as Flash, or MacroMind Director .
Electronic Notes (eNote) 4 weeks minimum	developing an innovative medical records system that helps clinicians to create notes quickly	Johnson	knowledge of medical records
Health Information Needs Translation (HINT) 4 weeks minimum	developing a system to identify clinicians' information needs during patient care, and to provide answers using the literature and other sources	Johnson	knowledge of patient care process
Patient Clinical Information System (PatCIS) 4 weeks minimum	Web-based patient-oriented health applications, including data entry, data review, education and advice; projects range from HTML coding to CGI programming; evaluation projects also possible.	Cimino	Various; depends on intended project

Scheduling / Application

The elective is given throughout the year. Minimum duration is 4 weeks. Suggested duration is 8-12 weeks.

All elective rotations are coordinated by the course director: Dr. Justin Starren. Acceptance into the elective is dependent on coordinating with a faculty advisor on a project. Students may contact faculty directly by email to learn more about particular projects. Emails should include a listing of relevant interests and computer skills. Due to limited space, scheduling should be coordinated through Dr. Starren.

Visiting students should register through the Office of Student Affairs

Contact

Dr. Justin Starren, 212-305-3443, email: starren@dbmi.columbia.edu

Top