Welcome, and about the Informatics Nerd

So how did the "Informatics Nerd" come to be? I am a computer programmer with almost 10 years experience in the realm of healthcare.  About half of that time was spent developing electronic medical record software, and since then it has been spent working to help clinical and genomics researchers.  While working with biomedical informatics researchers for the past 5 years, and even before then (before I even knew what biomedical informatics was all about) I found myself unable to get enough knowledge about how technology can help those clinicians and researchers working to make the world a better place.  I realized that in addition to being a general computer nerd (as I am very passionate about technology, which you will undoubtedly see focused here as well), I was also essentially a nerd about informatics.  My idea of a fun time is going to an informatics conference, attending every possible session/talk/workgroup that I can, then going back and trying out new things and ideas.

I've been very fortunate to have worked with and been inspired by informatics researchers who have really helped to foster my enthusiasm for this field, and decided to pursue more formal education.  I am currently enrolled in the Graduate Certificate program at Oregon Health & Science University, and plan to continue on through the Master's program.  I absolutely love it, and hope that I am able to make my own contributions to the field someday.

With this blog, I have no real goal other than to share my enthusiasm for topics in biomedical informatics that I come across.  I hope those that come across it enjoy what they find, and I welcome any feedback, comments and discussion.

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