# DataWiz-IN scholars program for Biomedical Informatics workforce in Indiana

> **NIH NIH R25** · INDIANA UNIVERSITY INDIANAPOLIS · 2024 · $135,000

## Abstract

Research in biomedical and bioengineering careers increasingly relies on rapidly evolving
domain-specific data analysis skills and the expert management of information and knowledge.
The need for such preparation is most acute among urban students who are multicultural,
multilingual, and low-income; who persistently underachieve academically compared to their
majority culture peers. This underachievement is a key factor in dissuading high school students
from considering college education. Hence, there is an urgent need to prepare the future research
workforce in biomedical informatics. One of the primary reasons for the Department of Biohealth
Informatics (DBI) at the School of Informatics and Computing (SoIC), Indiana University Purdue
University Indianapolis (IUPUI) campus to be hosting this R25 education program is the recently
approved Biomedical Informatics (BMI) baccalaureate degree program, which is the only such
program in Indiana and the third in the nation, to educate students in a rapidly growing field, to
address the shortage of informatics-trained research workforce in biomedicine. Since we also
have a highly successful accelerated BS+MS program that allows students to complete both a
baccalaureate and master’s degrees in five years, the students will be encouraged to participate
in this degree pathway that will prepare them for higher-paying job opportunities in the fields of
bioinformatics and health informatics. Along with this, our campus represents the amalgamation
of two of the leading research-focused universities in Indiana - Indiana and Purdue Universities,
and hosts the largest medical school in the nation. Long-term industry collaborations with leading
pharmaceutical companies such as Eli Lilly and company, faculty joint appointments with leading
research sites, like the Regenstrief Institute and an extensive existing network of interactions with
numerous Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs), make the SoIC/IUPUI an appropriate site to host
this NLM R25 research education program - whose goals are to reduce gender and race
disparities in the biomedical, behavioral and clinical research workforce by targeting academically
talented students who come from economically disadvantaged (ED) and/or underrepresented
minority (URM) populations. The objective here is to provide hands-on research experience
during summer in their junior, senior undergraduate and first-year graduate years and keep them
motivated to pursue research careers while taking advantage of access to accelerated degrees
available on campus. Since informatics in biomedicine impacts a wide variety of interdisciplinary
fields, proposed summer research experiences will benefit undergraduate and graduate student
population in a multitude of NLM-supported research careers.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10925205
- **Project number:** 5R25LM014209-03
- **Recipient organization:** INDIANA UNIVERSITY INDIANAPOLIS
- **Principal Investigator:** Sarath Chandra Janga
- **Activity code:** R25 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $135,000
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2022-09-15 → 2027-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10925205

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10925205, DataWiz-IN scholars program for Biomedical Informatics workforce in Indiana (5R25LM014209-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10925205. Licensed CC0.

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