# The Indiana Training Program in Public & Population Health Informatics

> **NIH NIH T15** · INDIANA UNIVERSITY INDIANAPOLIS · 2020 · $383,958

## Abstract

Project Summary / Abstract
Major trends in health and healthcare make a significant investment in training public and population
health informatics (PHI) researchers particularly compelling. These trends include (1) the increasing
realization of the importance of social, environmental, and behavioral factors as determinants of human
health; (2) the requirement to train experts who can support local, state, and federal health agencies
with informatics research and development; and (3) the urgent need to help the healthcare system
develop capacity in community and population health management, as well as data analytics, to help it
transition to a model emphasizing prevention and wellness rather than intervention. Therefore we
propose a multi-disciplinary training program in PHI. Through access to unparalleled population-level
data, education in population health and informatics methods, and experiences working on a broad
range of innovative PHI research projects, we will help trainees become independent scientists capable
of designing, developing, implementing and evaluating advanced information systems in clinical and
public health settings. Our program will incrementally grow from an initial set of 12 trainees (6
predoctoral, 6 postdoctoral) to 17 total trainees (9 predoctoral, 8 postdoctoral) in the fifth year.
Predoctoral trainees will complete a doctoral degree in either Epidemiology or Health Policy &
Management, with a concentration in PHI. Postdoctoral trainees will complete their MPH with a
concentration in PHI. Furthermore, expert faculty will actively mentor trainees in hands-on research in
areas such as health information exchange (HIE), detection of notifiable diseases from HIE data
streams, rapid identification and notification of emerging health threats (syndromic surveillance), HIE-
based computer-based decision support to improve primary care, and informatics methods to help
improve chronic pain care and prevent prescription drug abuse. Research experiences will include both
retrospective, observational studies involving health data from multiple health systems, as well as
prospective experiences involving a local health system partner. Trainees will also complete a broad set
of workshops and seminars that will equip them with knowledge and skills essential to BMI research,
such as the responsible conduct of research, team science, and research ethics. Building upon a strong
legacy of research and educational collaborations, we will successfully train a cadre of researchers
capable of leading the design, development and evaluation of next generation PHI systems. Collectively
our faculty and trainees will work on research that can be translated to public health agencies and
health care delivery systems to transform care delivery as well as outcomes.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9964895
- **Project number:** 5T15LM012502-04
- **Recipient organization:** INDIANA UNIVERSITY INDIANAPOLIS
- **Principal Investigator:** Brian E. Dixon
- **Activity code:** T15 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $383,958
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2017-07-01 → 2022-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9964895

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9964895, The Indiana Training Program in Public & Population Health Informatics (5T15LM012502-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9964895. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*