AMIA Honors Topaz with New Investigator Award

Maxim Topaz, PhD, Elizabeth Standish Gill Associate Professor of Nursing, will receive the American Medical Informatics Association’s New Investigator Award for 2021. 

Topaz is the first nurse to receive the honor, which will be presented at the AMIA’s 2021 Awards Gala on October 31 in San Diego. 

“Dr. Topaz’ research using natural language processing to improve early detection of a patient’s worsening condition is among the most innovative in nursing research and health care today. His receipt of this prestigious New Investigator Award is very well deserved,” said Elizabeth J. Corwin, PhD, vice dean of Strategic and Innovative Research at Columbia Nursing. 

The New Investigator Award honors an individual for early informatics contributions and significant scholarly contributions based on scientific merit and research excellence, according to the AMIA. It is part of the AMIA’s Signature Awards program, which recognizes members at various stages of their careers for important contributions to the field. 

Rebecca Schnall, PhD, Mary Dickey Lindsay Professor of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, will be inducted into the American College of Medical Informatics at the gala.