News
October 18, 2023

Regenstrief researcher to be inducted as ACMI fellow

Thankham Thyvalikakath

14 states represented in 2023 class of new fellows 

Thankam Thyvalikakath, DMD, MDS, PhD, a leader in dental informatics research, will be inducted as a fellow of American College of Medical Informatics (ACMI) at the American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA) 2023 Annual Symposium, in New Orleans, Louisiana.  

Dr. Thyvalikakath will be one of 23 fellows inducted into ACMI at the ceremony. The induction ceremony and dinner will be on Sunday, November 12. She is a researcher at Regenstrief Institute, the director of a joint dental informatics partnership between Regenstrief and Indiana University School of Dentistry and associate dean, Dental Informatics and Digital Health, IU School of Dentistry. 

Dr. Thyvalikakath’s research focuses on leveraging electronic health record data for clinical research and quality improvement purposes; applying user-centered design and cognitive engineering methods to design clinical systems that better support clinicians’ decision-making processes; implementation and evaluation of clinical decision support systems; and facilitating health information exchange to promote coordinated care between medical and dental care providers. 

The theme of AMIA 2023 Annual Symposium is Transforming Healthcare and Biomedicine for a Sustainable Future. 

AMIA’s Annual Symposium is the premier medical informatics event, presenting leading-edge scientific research and a wide array of scientific sessions. The symposium presents work from across the spectrum of the informatics field – translational bioinformatics, clinical research informatics, clinical informatics, consumer health informatics and public health informatics. 

The 2023 list of ACMI inductees, announced by AMIA, is: 

  • Adela Grando, PhD, FAMIA, Arizona State University 
  • Allison McCoy, PhD, FAMIA, ACHIP, Vanderbilt University Medical Center 
  • Bryant Karras, MD, State of Washington, Department of Health 
  • Chi-Ren Shyu, PhD, FAMIA, University of Missouri – Columbia 
  • Dana Crawford, PhD, Case Western Reserve University 
  • Ellen Clayton, MD, JD, Vanderbilt University Medical Center 
  • Graciela Gonzalez-Hernandez, PhD, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center 
  • Jenna Marquard, PhD, University of Minnesota 
  • Joseph Finkelstein, MD, FAMIA, University of Utah 
  • Kenrick Cato, PhD, RN, CPHIMS, FAAN, University of Pennsylvania & Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia 
  • Kirk Roberts, PhD, McWilliams School of Biomedical Informatics, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston 
  • Lipika Samal, MD, FAMIA, Brigham and Women’s Hospital/Harvard Medical School 
  • Maxim Topaz, PhD, MA, RN, FAAN, Columbia University School of Nursing 
  • Neil Smalheiser, MD, FAMIA, University of Illinois at Chicago 
  • Olena Mamykina, PhD, Columbia University 
  • Robert Lucero, PhD, MPH, RN, FAAN, University of California, Los Angeles, School of Nursing 
  • Shyam Visweswaran, MD, PhD, FAMIA, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine 
  • Stephen Wong, PhD, PE, FAMIA, Houston Methodist Hospital, Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston Methodist Neal Cancer Center, Houston Methodist Academic Institute, and Weil Cornell Medicine 
  • Thankam Thyvalikakath, DMD, PhD, Regenstrief Institute/Indiana University School of Dentistry 
  • Xiaoqian Jiang, PhD, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston 
  • Yong Chen, PhD, FAMIA, University of Pennsylvania 
  • Yuan Luo, PhD, FAMIA, Northwestern University 
  • Yunan Chen, PhD, University of California, Irvine 

Thankam Thyvalikakath, DMD, MDS, PhD
In addition to her role as a research scientist with the Clem McDonald Center for Biomedical Informatics at Regenstrief Institute and director of the Regenstrief and IU School of Dentistry Dental Informatics Program, Thankam Thyvalikakath, DMD, MDS, PhD, is a professor and the associate dean of dental informatics and digital health at IU School of Dentistry and an adjunct professor in the IUPUI Luddy School of Informatics, Computing and Engineering. 

About Regenstrief Institute
Founded in 1969 in Indianapolis, the Regenstrief Institute is a local, national and global leader dedicated to a world where better information empowers people to end disease and realize true health. A key research partner to Indiana University, Regenstrief and its research scientists are responsible for a growing number of major healthcare innovations and studies. Examples range from the development of global health information technology standards that enable the use and interoperability of electronic health records to improving patient-physician communications, to creating models of care that inform clinical practice and improve the lives of patients around the globe. 

Sam Regenstrief, a nationally successful entrepreneur from Connersville, Indiana, founded the institute with the goal of making healthcare more efficient and accessible for everyone. His vision continues to guide the institute’s research mission. 

About ACMI
ACMI is an honorary College of elected Informatics Fellows from the United States and abroad who have made significant and sustained contributions to the field of medical informatics and who have met rigorous scholarly scrutiny by their peers. 

About AMIA
AMIA® (American Medical Informatics Association®) is a community committed to the vision of a world where informatics transforms people’s care. Over the last 35 years, the use of informatics has grown exponentially to improve health and to make better healthcare decisions. Today, informatics is the key to accelerating the current goals of healthcare reform. Every day millions of people benefit from informaticians’ ability to accelerate healthcare’s transformation by collecting, analyzing and applying data directly to care decisions. Data produced throughout health and healthcare is the driving force of informatics and its ability to innovate critical advancements that directly benefit people. AMIA’s members are critical to discovering these insights, which is why AMIA is committed to being the professional home for the informaticians of today and the driver of informatics’ future.

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