Internationally Recognized Health Informatics Expert to join Louisiana Center for Health Innovation

Dr. Gabriela Wilson, an internationally recognized health informatics expert, will join the Louisiana Center for Health Innovation at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette as its director on August 1. Wilson will also be a professor in the College of Nursing and Health Sciences and hold The Dr. J. Robert Rivet Endowed Chair and The Acadian Ambulance Service/BORSF Eminent Scholar Endowed Chair in Health Informatics.

“Dr. Wilson is a dynamic leader whose expertise in health informatics will be a tremendous asset to our institution as we continue to lead in healthcare innovation. Her leadership as the director of the Louisiana Center for Health Innovation, coupled with her professorship and endowed chair positions, will further elevate our commitment to excellence in research and education,” said Dr. Lisa Broussard, interim dean of the College of Nursing and Health Sciences.

As LCHI director, Wilson will provide leadership in research and development activities and build collaborative partnerships with academic and research programs at the University. She will also develop initiatives to promote the Center’s contribution to the University’s innovation portfolio, through inventions, and development of technologies that can be commercialized.

Through her professorship and endowed chair positions, Wilson will expand opportunities for research, especially those that involve interdisciplinary collaborations with the College of Nursing and Health Sciences. In addition, she will strengthen the College’s research infrastructure, and mentor faculty and graduate students as they develop their own research.

“I am deeply honored to be selected through a national search as the Director of the Louisiana Center for Health Innovation, and the Robert Rivet Endowed Chair and The Acadian Ambulance Service/BORSF Eminent Scholar Endowed Chair in Health Informatics at the University of Louisiana Lafayette,” said Wilson. “This appointment not only excites me but also reinforces my commitment to addressing health inequities and pioneering significant advancements in health informatics. United by our shared vision and fueled by the vibrant culture of Louisiana, we are poised to redefine the future of healthcare through groundbreaking innovation.”

With extensive experience in both industry and academia, Wilson currently serves as a Professor and Founding Co-Director of the Multi-Interprofessional Center for Health Informatics (MICHI) at the University of Texas at Arlington and the Director of MICHI’s Health and Public Health Informatics division.

With a background in chemical engineering, pharmacoinformatics, health informatics, and public health informatics, Wilson has demonstrated her active support to the Health Informatics community by serving in numerous leadership positions within the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) and the American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA®).

She is also a member of the American-Romanian Academy of Arts and Sciences and a Senior member of the National Academy of Inventors. She received the prestigious 2023 HIMSS Changemaker in Health, Women in Health IT Award.

“We look forward to Dr. Wilson’s contributions in fostering our collaborations with other universities, nationally-recognized healthcare companies located here in Acadiana, and strengthening our long-standing partnership with the Louisiana Department of Health,” said Dr. Ramesh Kolluru, Vice President of Research, Innovation, and Economic Development at the UL Lafayette.

The LCHI combines faculty from multiple colleges across the university in computer science, health informatics, big data, nursing, and psychology. In addition, the LCHI is staffed with full-time research professionals in health informatics, data analytics, business intelligence, visualization, and software development.

Learn more about the LCHI at lchi.louisiana.edu.