D. Stephanie Dascola, Medical School Office of Research

Stephanie is a communications manager at the Medical School Office of Research. Contact her at sdascola@umich.edu.

IT helps transform medical student’s learning experience

First-year medical student Jacob Lowy has moderate-to-severe hearing loss in his right ear. Working together, HITS, ITS, and other units on campus leveraged IT that has transformed his experience—including adding captions to lecture videos and setting up realtime captioning (CART) during lectures. Lowy realizes that when something isn’t visible, it’s not always easy to understand. This often happens… Read More »

New tech explored at BRCF Genomics Showcase

On June 13, 2019, more than 300 people came together at the Biomedical Research Core Facilities Genomics Showcase to learn more about the rapidly evolving technologies, applications, and platforms available in the genomics space. Cores are centralized facilities or labs that offer shared services, shared equipment, resources, and expertise to biomedical researchers and investigators on a fee-for-service basis.… Read More »

Profiles in IT: Mahathy Kuchibhatla—Patient Portal expert

Michigan IT News recently interviewed Health Information Technology and Services staffer Mahathy Kuchibhatla, M.S., about her work building and managing the Patient Portal (MyUofMHealth.org). An undergraduate project that used Artificial Intelligence got her interested in computers that has led to a 10-year career in IT that improves patient engagement. Tell us about your background. I have a master’s… Read More »

BlueJeans key to success for distance learning partnership in Rwanda

In October 2017, Michigan IT News reported on videoconferencing that enables clinical education in Ethiopia as part a project led by Center for International Reproductive Health Training at the University of Michigan (UM-CIRHT). The year after, UM-CIRHT launched a two-year project with the University of Rwanda. The partnership strengthens family planning training and builds student and faculty capacity… Read More »

Michigan Medicine to host national data and analytics conference

Share your expertise, creative solutions, and new ideas at the Healthcare Data & Analytics Association (HDAA) 2019 Annual Conference in October! This year’s conference theme is “The Art of Data & Analytics.” Submit your idea for a presentation, poster, roundtable, or panel by April 2. HDAA is a volunteer-led organization focused on sharing the most current data and… Read More »

Enriching Scholarship 2019 announced, call for proposals

Enriching Scholarship is a free, four-day event from May 6-9, 2019, that focuses on improving teaching, learning, and research through the effective integration of technology and pedagogy. Past presenters and new voices are encouraged to take part, including graduate students, postdocs, faculty, and staff. If you’ve never presented before, sharing your experiences can bring a valuable new perspective to our… Read More »

Profiles in IT: A special Veterans Day edition

Military training prepares veterans for a career in IT by requiring technical proficiency, while teaching about teamwork, tenacity, leadership, and more. Veterans’ diverse backgrounds and knowledge demonstrate attention to detail, perseverance, and vibrancy focused on creating brighter futures at the University of Michigan. This Veterans Day, November 11, 2018, we are especially thankful for their service, and are appreciative… Read More »

The sixth annual NCRC Expo: A time to connect

Giveaways, popcorn, games, treats, and much more! The 6th Annual North Campus Research Complex (NCRC) Expo was on October 16, 2018, and brought together hundreds of researchers and their NCRC partners, including Health Information Technology and Services (HITS). The NCRC is a place of fast-paced scientific discovery that lead to improvements in health and well-being, and HITS is… Read More »

Researchpalooza 2018

Games, prizes, and a T-Rex. Researchpalooza was the largest-ever! More than 4,000 faculty and staff perused 91 different offices and labs that serve biomedical research across campus. HITS was on hand to showcase their at-the-elbow support with “Help Me Now.” They were alongside the Research Engagement team who shared IT solutions and MiChart Research staff who helped guests… Read More »

Profiles in IT: Melissa Thurber—project manager, customer advocate

Melissa Thurber, was recently interviewed about her work on the Software Delivery Team. The Health Information Technology & Services (HITS) project manager began her career in IT working in the digital marketing space. Thurber understands what customers are looking for, making her contributions to healthcare IT all the more impactful. Tell us about your role and responsibilities. I… Read More »

HITS supports research innovation at Cores Technology & Services Showcase

  The latest technologies and services available in biomedical research, all in one place. The Core Technology & Services Showcase on June 7 brought hundreds of faculty, students, and staff from the Biomedical Research Core Facilities (BRCF) together with dozens of partner vendors, including Health Information Technology & Services. Cores are centralized facilities or labs that offer shared… Read More »

$783k raised to support gaming outreach to Mott, others

More than 1,500 gamers from all over the world participated in person and online in a momentous weekend fundraising event held at the EMU Convocation Center in April. Their purpose: raise money to provide entertainment devices for kids at C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital, and other hospitalized children across the United States. The event was hosted by Gamers for… Read More »

HITS lends a hand to successful Patient Experience Expo 2018

Michigan Medicine recently hosted a week-long celebration of patients and their families. A number of events throughout the week brought together faculty, staff, students, patients, and their families to honor, discuss, and engage in all aspects of the patient experience. The Patient Experience Expo, held on April 24, was especially festive, and HITS was there to join in… Read More »

EMERSE: Michigan Medicine’s powerful medical record search engine

Any note or document that is written by a medical professional (like a doctor, pharmacist, nurse, or social worker) is called free text, meaning anything goes—from syntax errors to misspellings to abbreviations, and more. That’s tough for a search engine to navigate. To get any information at all for things like research studies or billing information, users would have… Read More »

Tech innovation redefines Medical School curriculum

The U-M Medical School is undergoing a curriculum transformation to develop future physician leaders in health care. In the previous model, students spent the first two years of their education focusing on science and the second two years in the clinic working with patients. In the new curriculum, students are exposed to the clinical aspects of medicine in… Read More »

New research computing package for Michigan Medicine

Research labs and teams sometimes spend a large amount of sponsored grant funding on data storage and computing resources. Researchers often have to choose between data safety and saving money, resulting in decreased productivity, and time wasted on data recovery. Beginning March 5, 2018, Health Information Technology & Services (HITS), in partnership with Advanced Research Computing – Technology Services (ARC-TS),… Read More »

They did it! Women of Michigan IT contribute to world record

On October 14, 2017, more than 3,700 women and girls dressed as the iconic Rosie the Riveter—dark blue work clothes, red socks, and the effervescent, red-and-white polka-dot bandana. Together, they set a new world record of the most people dressed as Rosie the Riveter gathered in one place. Kudos to all Michigan IT staff who participated! Here’s what some… Read More »

First-ever U-M Iron Viz Championship

It’s like “Iron Chef,” but with data instead of ingredients. The first-ever U-M Iron Viz Championship was held on November 30, 2017, in the Arbor Lakes Dome. Using Tableau Software’s visual analytics capabilities, data analysts were tasked with building a data visualization—or viz—in front of a live audience in just 20 minutes using 45,000+ rows of data about… Read More »

HITS showcases support for NCRC at Expo

Over 400 visitors attended the 5th Annual North Campus Research Complex (NCRC) Expo on Wednesday, October 18, 2017. Two teams from Health Information Technology & Services (HITS) were on hand to showcase tech support and research support tools. The Help Me Now walk-up support team talked about the on-demand support they provide for IT products and services, including… Read More »