Fueling the engine of biomedical informatics

The vast amount of health data created every day in the United States holds hidden solutions to treating disease, reducing medical errors, and lowering health care costs. Faculty and students at UTHealth Houston School of Biomedical Informatics work to unlock these secrets, supported by endowments like the Bridges Family Excellence Fund.

Established by the family of UTHealth Houston Development Board member and School of Biomedical Informatics graduate Joe Bridges, DHI, the endowment provides start-up funding for research projects, awards for faculty excellence and achievement, student scholarships, and additional resources for discretionary use by the school’s dean.

The fund recently awarded a scholarship to Miriam B. Barrett, a student in the Doctorate in Health Informatics program who also serves as manager of Clinical Microbiology and Molecular Pathology at Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center.

“My family, like many families, was impacted financially by the pandemic,” Miriam says. “This scholarship allows me to progress in my academic and professional careers despite these challenges.”