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Many Faces of UTHealth
SBMI Dean sees a Big Data Revolution on the Horizon

Jiajie Zhang, Ph.D., says advances in Big Data are helping health care workers develop new ways to prevent, diagnose and treat life-threatening diseases. In addition, Big Data is driving adverse medical events down and health care efficiency up.

Jiajie Zhang, Ph.D.
Dean
Dr. Doris L. Ross Professor
The Glassell Family Foundation Distinguished Chair in Informatics Excellence
UTHealth School of Biomedical Informatics


What is something you wish everyone knew about your school?

Where medicine is today is similar to where we were in the 1990s when the Internet revolution began. We are in the middle of another revolution, the Big Data revolution, and our school is a major player in the field of medicine. We could be a small entity like what Google was some years ago, but we are rapidly growing so you never know where we can go.


What is your greatest accomplishment at the School of Biomedical Informatics?

Hiring a lot of faculty who are smarter than me and who are the top thought leaders in informatics across the country.


What inspires you about the work being conducted at your school?

The Big Data revolution will change everything and we cannot find enough time to do everything we need to do. Everything is happening in real time and there are a lot of changes being brought on by technological advances.


Can you share something with us that few people know about you?

I never went to high school because I enrolled in a special program in a university in China that offers an accelerated curriculum for young STEM students, so I started college when I was 15. I joke by saying I never had a high school sweetheart.


Name one thing that is on your bucket list.

A stand-alone building for the School of Biomedical Informatics.


What has been your greatest adventure?

Becoming a Texan. I have spent more than half of my life in the U.S. and more than half of my time in the U.S. has been in Texas. By definition, I am a Texan now. I was told everyone wears cowboy boots but they don’t.


Name someone who has been influential in your career.

Richard Feynman, Ph.D., is a physicist and a Noble Laureate. I read his biography called "Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!" and the biggest thing I learned from him is that doing science is like playing a game or completing a puzzle. By using the first principle, you can discover everything for yourself.