Regenstrief Institute Research Scientist William Tierney, M.D., renowned for his groundbreaking work in health informatics, population health and global healthcare innovation, has been named a Distinguished Professor by Indiana University and honored with the McGovern Award from Ball State University.
Indiana University’s Distinguished Professor designation, established in 1953, recognizes faculty who have demonstrated extraordinary excellence in their fields. The McGovern Award, presented by Ball State University, recognizes individuals who have made significant impacts in health and science. Recipients deliver the McGovern Lecture, sharing their expertise and experiences with the academic and broader community.
These accolades recognize Tierney’s profound contributions to health and science, highlighting his enduring impact on healthcare systems worldwide.
A former president and CEO of Regenstrief Institute, his leadership at Regenstrief has enhanced healthcare delivery and shaped the future of medical informatics. The William M. Tierney Center for Health Services Research at Regenstrief is named in his honor.
Dr. Tierney was instrumental in the establishment of the Regenstrief Data Core, now Regenstrief Data Services, which provides research access to one of the first established and largest health information exchanges in the U.S. He worked alongside Clem McDonald, M.D., in pioneering work with electronic health records (EHRs) and health information exchange. Regenstrief is credited with the development of the first EHR and establishment of one of the earliest health information exchanges.
Dr. Tierney, a professor in the Department of Community and Global Health at the Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health at IU Indianapolis, is an internationally recognized physician-scientist, informatician and healthcare leader. His work has transformed patient care and health services both nationally and globally, particularly through innovations in biomedical informatics and health systems strengthening.
As the founding director of informatics and research for Academic Model Providing Access to Healthcare (AMPATH), Dr. Tierney played a pivotal role in advancing healthcare systems in low-resource settings. Under his leadership, AMPATH developed sub-Saharan Africa’s first ambulatory electronic health record, now used in more than 50 countries worldwide.
He has been elected to the U.S. National Academy of Medicine and is a master in the American College of Physicians and a fellow of the American College of Medical Informatics (ACMI), the International Academy of Health Sciences Informatics and the Royal College of Physicians of London.
He served as president for the Society of General Internal Medicine (SGIM) and ACMI and has received SGIM’s John M. Eisenberg and Robert J. Glaser Awards for Research and Generalism, ACMI’s Morris F. Collen Award for Career Achievements in Biomedical Informatics, and the National Award for Career Achievements from the Association for Clinical and Translational Science.
Dr. Tierney has served as co-editor-in-chief of two leading medical journals: Medical Care from 1997-2002 and the Journal of General Internal Medicine from 2005-2009.
William M. Tierney, M.D.
Dr. Bill Tierney is a professor of Community and Global Health and Associate Dean for Population Health and Health Outcomes at Indiana University’s Fairbanks School of Public Health as well as a part-time professor of Population Health at the University of Texas at Austin’s Dell Medical School.
