Manish Kumar, Principal Investigator at the Carolina Population Center at UNC- Chapel Hill, successfully defended his dissertation on December 14, 2020 and earned his Ph.D. in Health Informatics from the Carolina Health Informatics Program (CHIP) at UNC-CH. Kumar’s dissertation focused on developing national and sub-national electronic health records to improve maternal health program and service delivery.
“My dissertation research was focused on the development of national and sub-national electronic health records to enable health data exchange for improved maternal health service delivery and program at the hospital, state, and national levels in India. The study proposed a health data exchange model that can enable enables capture, use, and re-use of electronic health information to deliver clinical care and to support administrative, and program management decision-making at hospital, state, and national levels. Prof. Javed Mostafa, Director- Carolina Health Informatics Program was my advisor and other committee members included Prof. David Gotz from the School of Information and Library Science, Prof. Christopher Shea and Prof. Jason B. Smith from the Gillings School of Global Public Health, and Prof. Paul Biondich from the Regenstrief Institute, Indianapolis.”
Kumar started his doctoral degree at CHIP after working more than 15 years in the global health domain and getting his Master of Public Health from UNC Gillings School of Public Health. He followed his passion for utilizing health informatics to evaluate and improve upon health outcomes in low and middle-income countries. “My participation in the Laboratory of Applied Informatics Research of CHIP and interactions with Prof. Javed Mostafa made me realize that CHIP aligned with my research interests and professional goals. I was motivated by the prospect of conducting research and enhancing my knowledge of health informatics science.”
During his tenure as a CHIP Ph.D. student, Kumar regularly engaged with students, faculty, and staff within the program – sharing his experience and research with the CHIP community. “The collegial and supportive peer network is an important pillar of the doctoral program and it made the doctoral program a joyful learning experience.”
Kumar’s next goal is to disseminate his research and apply his skills and knowledge to global health informatics research with the Carolina Population Center at UNC-CH. “My passion and motivation for health informatics is guided by the belief that appropriate application of information and communication technologies have the potential to overcome geographical, social, economic, and cultural barriers for improved health status at the individual and population levels. The doctoral program was a natural transition for me after finishing the master’s program in public health where I collaborated with Prof. Javed for my master’s paper research.”
CHIP greatly enjoyed supporting Dr. Kumar through his doctoral degree program and looks forward to the important work his is doing in the world. CHIP staff would particularly like to thank Manish for all the Indian snacks he brought to the CHIP offices – the snacks were always enjoyed, and the thought was much appreciated!
To keep up with Dr. Kumar and his research, follow him on Twitter @Manishunc
Find Dr. Kumar on LinkedIn
