RHeaDI Fellowship Program

Funded by an NIH-NINR T32 Institutional Training Grant, the Reducing Health Differences Through Informatics (RHeaDI) Pre and Postdoctoral Training Program provides eight trainees with research support, didactic courses, networking opportunities, and financial assistance to conduct interdisciplinary research using informatics and precision medicine approaches to overcome obstacles to health for all Americans.

Columbia University School of Nursing has been the leader in preparing nurse scientists to conduct interdisciplinary informatics research for nearly two decades through RHeaDI and related funding sources. 

RHeaDI aims and training activities are well-aligned with the National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR) commitment to supporting nursing science that focuses on (a) advance research to identify and reduce barriers that limit access to quality health care and contribute to differences in health outcomes; (b) support the development and implementation of evidence-based, community-informed interventions that promote health, well-being, and resilience across the lifespan; and (c) drive innovation that optimize health outcomes for individuals, families, and communities at all stages of life.

Building upon RHeaDI’s unique and historic strengths in informatics and data science and the focus on precision health approaches in the last competitive renewal, this competetive renewal focuses on overcoming obstacles to health for all Americans. 

The specific aims of RHeaDI are to:

1. Maintain an administrative structure to support interdisciplinary research training for nurses focused on the use of informatics and data science approaches to advance health promotion, holistic and precision health, and facilitate evidence-based practice.
2. Recruit and train a nursing workforce to engage in interdisciplinary research that leverages informatics and data science to enhance healthcare delivery, promote personalized and holistic approaches to care, and support evidence-based practices that improve health outcomes in the American people.
3. Enhance the knowledge and skills of predoctoral and postdoctoral nurse trainees in the integration of theories and methods from informatics, data science, and public health research to promote health, holistic and precision health, and facilitate evidence-based practice.
4. Evaluate the training program structures, processes, and outcomes on an ongoing and annual basis. 

The RHeaDI Program

RHeaDI training is restricted to registered nurses and is funded for four predoctoral and four postdoctoral positions per year.

Predoctoral trainees must be PhD students in nursing or biomedical informatics. Trainees complete the core requirements for their PhD program as well as the RHeaDI seminar. Core requirements are complemented by electives in areas of research interest. Trainees also participate in faculty programs of research throughout their PhD program and are expected to present at conferences and publish journal papers as part of their training experience. Predoctoral trainees are funded by RHeaDI for two years of the PhD program.

Postdoctoral trainees are selected based on their match with RHeaDI objectives and faculty programs of research, academic performance, and research goals. They conduct interdisciplinary informatics research under the supervision of a RHeaDI faculty mentor. Trainees participate in the RHeaDI seminar and may take additional coursework relevant to their research interests. However, the majority of time is spent conducting research, publishing research abstracts and papers, and advancing grantsmanship skills. Postdoctoral trainees are funded by RHeaDI for two to three years.

Faculty Mentors

Past Trainees 

Contact

For more information, please contact Dr. Rebecca Schnall, RHeaDI Director and Principal Investigator, at rb897@columbia.edu (link sends e-mail).