Professor Degui Zhi, PhD to chair Department of Bioinformatics and Systems Medicine
Effective March 1, Professor Degui Zhi, PhD, MS will chair the Department of Bioinformatics and Systems Medicine at McWilliams School of Biomedical Informatics at UTHealth Houston. The faculty and researchers in this department develop and apply computational methods and tools for the study of genes, proteins, cells, biological networks, and images and integrate them with clinical and population data to address fundamental challenges in patient care.
“I am excited and honored to have the opportunity to serve this department,” noted Zhi. “We have a robust group of hardworking faculty members and researchers and I am confident that together, we can make our department a leader in bioinformatics and systems medicine in the age of Artificial Intelligence (AI).”
Zhi joined the school during the summer of 2016 as an associate professor and was named a professor in 2022. He is one of the founding faculty members for the Center for Precision Health and currently directs the Center for Artificial Intelligence and Genome Informatics. His research focuses on population genome informatics, the integration of trans-Omics data, and predictive modeling of electronic health record (EHR) data using deep learning. He advises numerous master’s students, serves as a committee chair for several PhD students, and teaches Deep Learning in Biomedical Informatics at the school.
“I’ve had the great fortune of working alongside Dr. Zhi for nearly eight years,” said Dean and Glassell Family Foundation Distinguished Chair in Informatics Excellence, Jiajie Zhang, PhD. “He has the subject-matter expertise, research background, teaching knowledge, and leadership acumen to lead the department. I am confident Dr. Zhi will play a pivotal role in steering and elevating our Department of Bioinformatics and Systems Medicine in the era of Artificial Intelligence.”
With his new role, Zhi will provide vision and strategic leadership to the department in the areas of education, research, application, and service. He will lead the department in building research programs as a strategic planner, mentor, coordinator, and facilitator. Zhi will work closely with Academic and Student Affairs in support of academic and curricular activities and student recruitment, admission, progression, and graduation. He will supervise, mentor, and lead the review, promotion, and tenure of departmental faculty and recruit outstanding faculty to join the department. Under the guidance of Dean Zhang and McWilliams School of Biomedical Informatics administration, Zhi will handle the management of the departmental budget, facilities, and other resources. Lastly, Zhi must foster collegial relations between departments, in order to support the long-term vision and goals of the school.
During the exhaustive recruitment search, Professor Hongfang Liu, PhD served as interim chair for the department. To learn more about the Department of Bioinformatics and Systems Medicine, visit our website.