DBHi Welcomes 2024 Clinical Informatics Fellows

The Department of Biomedical and Health Informatics and the University of Pennsylvania’s Institute for Biomedical Informatics are pleased to announce the 2024 Clinical Informatics Fellows: 

Alex Ruan, MD

After completing his education at Harvard Medical School and a pediatric residency at CHOP, Alex extended his clinical training by joining us as a Neonatology fellow in July 2023. He received official approval from the American Board of Pediatrics and Preventive Medicine to embark on a dual fellowship in Clinical Informatics (CI), commencing his CI specialization in July 2024. Alex has made significant strides in the field of clinical informatics, with a research focus on enhancing electronic health record education and optimization for trainees. Additionally, he has delved into addressing disparities in care within the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and beyond, resulting in numerous national presentations. His broader interests in informatics encompass decision support systems and the application of machine learning to enhance healthcare outcomes.

Peter Zhang, MD

Peter, currently serving as the Chief Resident of Quality and Safety at the VA in collaboration with the University of Tennessee, concluded his residency in internal medicine. He has been instrumental in conceiving and spearheading initiatives, notably a congestive heart failure remote monitoring program tailored for rural hospital systems. The successful implementation of this program has shown a tangible reduction in hospital re-admissions. Leveraging his background in computer science and expertise in electronic health records, Peter not only has made substantial contributions to national presentations, including the American Medical Informatics Association Clinical Informatics Conference, but also has several publications to his credit.

Loukya Kanakamedala, MD

Loukya holds a degree in neuroscience from Moravian University and obtained her medical degree from the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine. Currently serving as a resident in internal medicine at Main Line Health, Loukya has taken the lead in various initiatives using the Epic Electronic Health Record system to enhance care and address issues related to hospital re-admissions. She possesses a keen interest in hands-on experience with the socio-technical aspects of informatics. Loukya has led numerous presentations at both local and national levels.

Narek Israelyan, MD

Narek is a Los Angeles native who completed his undergraduate studies in neuroscience at the University of California, Irvine. He pursued a master’s degree in human nutrition at Columbia University, where he continued his education to complete his medical doctorate. After leading a project to understand blood utilization patterns across departments in the hospital during his clinical pathology residency at the University of Pennsylvania, he became interested interests in clinical informatics and transfusion medicine. During this time, the immense potential for integrating both fields became evident. With help from fellowship program directors and key faculty mentors in informatics and transfusion medicine, he embarked on a novel integrated dual fellowship program. Narek is excited to merge the clinical perspective from transfusion medicine with the problem-solving principles in informatics to create innovative solutions for widespread benefit.

To learn more about this CHOP and Penn collaboration, please visit the Clinical Informatics Fellowship page.