Education Opportunities
Biomedical informatics focuses on the flow of information from developments in basic biology to the clinical environment.
Clinical imaging and visualization enables customized surgical procedures tailored to individual patient anatomy while molecular medicine leads to individualized drug therapies.
Simulation of patients or of molecules supports learning and investigation prior to actual therapies or laboratory experiments. Advances in genomic science lead to the need to manage and understand biological data using informatics methods and sustain the future of individualized medicine. Automated literature search engines comb the scientific literature and databases and extract relevant information for each individual. Multimedia supports health care decision making by delivering discoveries in molecular medicine to the patient’s bedside. Electronic communication extends social networks for patient support and has already led to new consumer dynamics in medicine.
From DNA sequences to medical imaging to patient histories, biomedical informatics develops methods and systems to manage, analyze and understand the flow of data from the biosciences, the physician to the patient.
The Biomedical Informatics (BMI) Training Program offers diverse programs for students interested in education in informatics spanning the full range of biomedicine including bioinformatics and clinical informatics. The program’s focus is on the development of novel methodologies in informatics applied to the biomedical domain.
Undergraduate Programs
See the Biomedical Computation major (http://bmc.stanford.edu). The BMI program does not offer a Bachelors degree.
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Graduate Degree Programs
To address diverse needs and backgrounds of students interested in biomedical informatics, the BMI Training Program offers the Ph.D., Academic MS, Co-terminal MS, and the Professional MS.
For more information about the following Degree programs, including how to apply, please browse here
The explosion in data from all areas of medicine and biology has led to the growth of biomedical informatics, including its component disciplines of clinical informatics and bioinformatics. The development of these areas will create new opportunities to change medical practice and the need to understand and manage this information in the context of clinical care. The Biomedical Informatics (BMI) program was founded in 1982 and broadly encompasses bioinformatics and clinical informatics.
Candidates in the BMI program may focus on research in any aspect of information management and analysis along the biomedical research pipeline. They are united in their interest in using information technology to manage, analyze and understand biomedical data, and in developing new approaches to using information to improve health care. Specific areas of investigation include: decision-support systems, integrated workstations, knowledge acquisition, speech input, pen-based computing, medical records, computational biology, biological sequence analysis, biological 3D structure representation, pharmacogenetics, pharmacogenomics, genomics, collaborative technologies, network-based representation and retrieval of biomedical information and literature, medical imaging, reasoning under uncertainty, controlled terminologies for medicine and biology, technology assessment, and health-services research.
The course of study requires training in the informatics methods used to represent knowledge and develop models, the computer science (CS) required to implement these representations and models, and the specialized biomedical domain knowledge necessary to identify and make impact upon important problems. Towards this end, students must take courses in 1) mathematics/CS which provide fundamental understanding of how knowledge is represented mathematically and how models are developed, 2) CS/biomedical informatics which develop understanding of how models are implemented and the technical requirements of the medium, e.g., programming languages, machine architectures, databases & algorithms, 3) complete courses in the bioscience curriculum that gives them deep understanding of some area of biology or medicine, and 4) classes in social policy and ethics which examine the societal impact of new technologies.
Ph.D. Program
The Ph.D. program is best for candidates who do not already have a Ph.D. and are interested in research . Candidates with training in computer science, the biosciences and other related fields are preferred. The Ph.D. program is suited for a career in academia , industry, hospital administration, government (NASA), etc.
Academic MS
The Academic MS is a research-orientated MS program; candidates typically enter the program with an M.D., Ph.D. or other form of advance training. This degree program is best suited for those interested in academic appointments or industry research.
Co-terminal MS
For Stanford undergraduates who wish to pursue a graduate degree, they may choose to enroll in the Co-terminal MS program prior to completion of their 11th quarter of undergraduate study.
Professional MS
The Professional MS is an on-line, part-time MS program. This degree is best for those who have advanced training in Computer Science, Medicine, Biology or related areas and wish to acquire background in the inter-discipline and advanced training in biomedical informatics. This program is best for those who wish to remain employed while studying towards a degree.
The Co-terminal MS program is for Stanford undergraduates who are interested in completing a MS degree while simultaneously completing the requirements for their undergraduate studies. Interested applicants should submit their applications prior to the 11 th quarter of undergraduate study.
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Professional Education
The BMI program offers educational programs designed for professionals; these programs include short courses, Certificate Programs and the Professional MS degree.
We offer 3-5 day Protégé short courses that do not have significant prerequisites and provide in-depth introductions to the field of ontology development and engineering using Protégé, covering frame-based methodologies as well as Semantic Web technologies based on OWL.
The BMI program offers Certificate Programs in Bioinformatics and Computational Genomics. Each Certificate program is comprised of three (3) graduate-level classes in the topic. The Certificate programs are best for those who have training in a highly related area and wish to broaden their area of expertise.
The Professional MS is described above under “Graduate Degrees”
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Medical Education
The BMI program offers the Original Research and Investigative Concentrations for medical students enrolled at the Stanford School of Medicine. Options for training beyond the Concentration include the MD/MS and MD/Ph.D.
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Other Graduate degrees
Graduate students at Stanford with an interest in bioinformatics or medical informatics may be interested in the minor in biomedical informatics. This option is well-suited for student with an interest in combining wet bench biology with the study of bioinformatics.
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Non-Degree Programs
For information on the BMI program’s professional training in biomedical or clinical informatics, please see here
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