The American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA) hosted its 2024 annual symposium from Nov. 9 to 13 in San Francisco, gathering professionals, academics, and industry leaders to discuss advancements in biomedical and health informatics. The event featured keynotes, panel discussions, and workshops on cutting-edge technologies like artificial intelligence and big data integration in healthcare.
The Institute for Informatics, Data Science and Biostatistics had a significant presence, with faculty and students leading talks, poster sessions, and panels, while recruiter Giulina Sertl engaged attendees about the institute’s programs and new initiatives, including a newly launched podcast.
A standout moment at the symposium was the recognition of Linying Zhang, PhD, who received the AMIA Edward H. Shortliffe Doctoral Dissertation Honorable Mention Award for her dissertation on “Causal Machine Learning for Reliable Real-World Evidence Generation in Healthcare.” The Edward H. Shortliffe Doctoral Dissertation Award offers prestigious recognition for top doctoral dissertations that contribute to the science of informatics in any biomedical application domain.
Another highlight was when Seunghwan (Nigel) Kim, PhD candidate, received the AMIA Leadership and Education Award Donation (LEAD) Fund award. The LEAD Fund’s mission is to promote diversity, support trainee engagement, nurture future leaders, and allow current professionals to “pay it forward.”
Overall, the symposium fostered meaningful dialogue, networking, and the exchange of ideas, reaffirming AMIA’s role as a crucial driver of innovation and collaboration in health informatics. As participants departed with renewed inspiration, the anticipation for AMIA 2025 is already building.
