Accomplished researcher will serve as interim head of one of nation’s premier health information technology groups
Brian E. Dixon, PhD, MPA, has been named interim director of the Clem McDonald Center for Biomedical Informatics (CBMI) at Regenstrief Institute, effective June 1, 2022.
Dr. Dixon will continue to serve as the inaugural director of Public and Population Health Informatics, a role he serves jointly with Regenstrief and the Indiana University Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health. He also is a Regenstrief research scientist and a Fairbanks School of Public Health associate professor of epidemiology. As of July 1, 2022, Dr. Dixon will be a full professor with Fairbanks School of Public Health.
He is also a research scientist with CBMI and Regenstrief’s Center for Health Services Research (HSR), the Richard L. Roudebush Veterans Administration Medical Center and the Center for Health Policy at the Fairbanks School of Public Health as well as an adjunct associate professor of health informatics at the IU School of Informatics and Computing.
Dr. Dixon has been a Regenstrief Institute faculty member since 2011, following a decade as a staff member. He is thought to be the first staff member to attain faculty status at the institute in the organization’s more than a half century of conducting and applying research to improve human health.
He earned a doctorate in health informatics and a master’s in public management from IUPUI and holds an undergraduate degree in computer science from DePauw University.
Since early 2020 he has been working closely with officials from local, state and national agencies to provide data, analysis and insights into the pandemic. His expertise is frequently sought by media from across the country. He is a fellow of the American College of Medical Informatics, AMIA (American Medical Informatics Association) and HIMSS (Health Information Management Systems Society).
Dr. Dixon’s research focuses on applying informatics methods and tools to improve population health in clinical, as well as public health organizations. His work leverages clinical and administrative data in electronic health records to measure population health, better understand the determinants of health, examine information flow in the health system, and improve outcomes in individuals and populations.
Dr. Dixon has published more than 120 peer-reviewed publications, including cutting edge work related to the pandemic, and 25 book chapters. He is also the editor of three highly acclaimed books on clinical informatics, public health informatics, and health information exchange. He currently receives or has received support for his research from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, among other national organizations.
In addition to his groundbreaking research, he teaches informatics courses to future clinical and public health leaders, and regularly mentors junior and future informatics professionals.
About Regenstrief Institute
Founded in 1969 in Indianapolis, the Regenstrief Institute is a local, national and global leader dedicated to a world where better information empowers people to end disease and realize true health. A key research partner to Indiana University, Regenstrief and its research scientists are responsible for a growing number of major healthcare innovations and studies. Examples range from the development of global health information technology standards that enable the use and interoperability of electronic health records to improving patient-physician communications, to creating models of care that inform practice and improve the lives of patients around the globe.
Sam Regenstrief, a nationally successful entrepreneur from Connersville, Indiana, founded the institute with the goal of making healthcare more efficient and accessible for everyone. His vision continues to guide the institute’s research mission.
