As the era of ?Big Data? dawns on biomedical research, multiple types of biomedical data are being generated on an unprecedented scale with high volume, variety, and velocity, challenging our current abilities for data representation, visualization, integration, storage, and analysis. It is well-recognized that the greatest challenge to leveraging the significant potentials of big data is in educating and recruiting future computational and data scientists who have the background, training and experience to master fundamental opportunities in biomedical sciences. This demands interdisciplinary education and hands-on practicum training on understanding the application, analysis, limitations, and value of the big data. To bridge this knowledge gap for the U.S. biomedical workforce, we propose to establish a joint New York City College of Technology (City Tech) at the City University of New York (CUNY) and Weill Cornell Medicine (WCM) training program to educate and train undergraduate students from underrepresented backgrounds in the use of cutting edge big data methods in biomedical data sciences. Offered by interdisciplinary faculty from City Tech and WCM, this program will instruct students in the use of new methods and tools for big data by providing in-depth instruction, hands-on summer internships and practicum opportunities on big data access, integration, processing and analysis. Our primary educational goal is to prepare the next generation of innovators and visionaries, particularly from underrepresented racial and ethnic minorities, in the emerging, multidimensional field of big data science in healthcare, as well as to develop a future workforce that fulfills industry needs and increases U.S. competitiveness in healthcare technologies and applications.
The joint New York City College of Technology (City Tech) and Weill Cornell Medicine (WCM) Big Data Training Program in Biomedical Informatics (BD2BMI) seeks to provide educational and hands-on practicum training in the utilization of biomedical data to undergraduate students from underrepresented racial and ethnic minorities. BD2BMI will address a major need for the U.S. biomedical workforce to develop and enhance existing skills in application, analysis, limitations, and value of the big data.
