As we head into fall, you can feel the renewed and refreshed focus throughout AMIA. Now more than 6,000 strong, our members are collaborating ahead of the Annual Symposium, educating Capitol Hill about AI in healthcare and biomedicine, stepping into leadership roles, building collaborations and relationships across disciplines, and continuing to lead the conversation on health informatics. Read on for more on some of the highlights I’d like to share from across our organization.
Annual Symposium Is Coming
Excitement is building around AMIA’s Annual Symposium, to be held November 15–19 in Atlanta, GA. The Symposium is a powerful time for us to make professional and personal connections. This year’s theme, Modernizing Informatics Across the Spectrum, reflects AMIA's commitment to advancing every corner of informatics research and practice.
I want to extend my personal gratitude to Dr. Brian Dixon, PhD, MPA, FACMI, FAMIA, FHIMSS, MACE, Chair of the Annual Symposium Scientific Program Committee, for leading an expert team in curating deeply impactful informatics content. I'd also like to thank our keynote speakers, Dr. Kedar S. Mate, MD, and Dr. James Cimino, MD, FACMI, FACP, FAMIA, whose visionary insights will inspire and energize our community.
Have you registered yet? If not, here’s a friendly reminder that the lowest member price of the year ends September 30. Get registered—I’ll see you there!
AMIA Board Director Elections
Thank you to the Nominating Committee for their hard work in selecting an exceptional slate of candidates for officer and board director positions. Nominating committee members include: Aaron Tierney, Amar Das, Aziz Boxwala, Bilikis Oladimeji, Chris Longhurst, Hongfang Liu, JaMor Hairston, Lucila Ohno-Machado, Noémie Elhadad, Scott McGrath, Susan Hull, and Susan Newbold.
The Board of Directors slate of candidates includes ten outstanding candidates to fill four open director positions. The live board director candidate forum can be viewed here, along with additional candidate information here.
Don’t Forget to Vote
Voting opens today – Monday, September 29. AMIA has made voting easier than ever. You no longer need separate username and password combinations—you can use your login credentials for amia.org. Notifications will be sent when ballots are available; watch your email. Election results will be announced during the State of the Association on November 18, 2025.
Informatics Microcredentialing is Coming
I am excited to share that the AMIA Board of Directors approved an exciting new Health Informatics microcredential program across a range of topic areas in collaboration with the University of South Florida (USF) and Bisk. Launching in January 2026, this four-course, online, stackable program entitled Health Informatics in the Real World; Designing Solutions for Healthcare Challenges; Making Technology Work for People; and From Ideas to Impact has been developed by faculty informaticians.
This initiative is also partnered with Bisk, a leading developer of digital education experiences. Grounded in AMIA’s published delineation of practice and workforce competencies, this initiative will help directly advance our mission to strengthen the informatics workforce and expand opportunities for professionals across the healthcare ecosystem.
These microcredentials also address opportunities identified by AMIA’s Health System Council and Academic Forum for applied, practice-oriented upskilling and reskilling opportunities, while opening new doors to students, career changers, and informatics-adjacent professionals. Going forward, we will continue to build new education opportunities and entry points into AMIA, which will complement our new digital membership and provide new stackable credentials and education pathways.
New Digital Membership
In August, AMIA introduced a new digital membership category that provides limited, complimentary access to many of AMIA's member benefits. This new membership level aims to engage a broader network of students and professionals interested in biomedical and health informatics.
Strengthening and growing AMIA's community brings many benefits, including fostering multidisciplinary collaboration, creating a pathway for the next generation of informatics professionals, and helping to advance our advocacy voice. Please share this opportunity within your networks and extend a warm welcome to our new digital members.
Our Policy Work Continues
A powerful value of AMIA membership is realizing the strength of our collective voice. In response to recent HHS actions undermining equitable healthcare and scientific integrity, AMIA released a statement on September 3. This statement was sent to AMIA’s connections on Capitol Hill and received a largely positive response. It follows AMIA’s year-long trend of advocating for scientific integrity, particularly in support of NIH and AHRQ funding. More information on AMIA’s wide-ranging policy actions can be found on the AMIA website, here.
Equipping Hill Staffers on AI
On August 25, AMIA partnered with Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine (WashU) to host a one-day, intensive virtual boot camp for Capitol Hill staff entitled The Algorithm Will See You Now: Policy Essentials for AI in Healthcare. The boot camp explored real-world healthcare AI applications, ethical considerations, and unintended consequences that policymakers should understand. The boot camp and associated materials are now available for AMIA members.
2026 FAMIA Fellowship Update
We are pleased to share that AMIA received a total of 132 FAMIA applications this cycle—73 through the Long-Term Experience Pathway and 59 through the Certification Pathway. Notably, this year marks the final opportunity to apply through the Long-Term Experience Pathway, making this cycle especially significant.
We are grateful to the 84 current FAMIA members who have generously volunteered their time and expertise to serve as reviewers. Thanks to their efforts, the review process is on track to conclude by the end of October, and we look forward to announcing the 2026 class of Fellows in early November.
Save the Date: Amplify Informatics Conference
Members have asked for more networking and connection opportunities, so in 2026 we’re doing something new. The Amplify Informatics Conference will bring together two flagship AMIA events into one connection point, co-locating the Informatics Summit and Clinical Informatics Conference.
Gathering in Denver, May 18–21, we’ll make deep community connections and access leading clinical and research content, while also benefiting from select shared sessions—including Opening, Closing, Year in Review—and cross-disciplinary networking. Learn more about the Amplify Informatics Conference here.
Thank You for Your Input
Finally, thank you for participating in our Member Digital Experience Survey, conducted in August. We received a tremendous response from a broad cross-section of AMIA members. The Board will review these results in November and use the insights to guide investments in improving AMIA’s digital tools and content beginning in 2026.
Now more than ever, I encourage all of us to remain connected within the AMIA informatics community. The field of informatics needs you—your voice, your experience, and your perspective. I’m grateful to be part of this rich community.