Health informatics expert and educator Jessica Ancker, PhD, MPH, has joined the Department of Biomedical Informatics as vice chair for Educational Affairs. Ancker comes from Weill Cornell Medical College and Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences, where she was an associate professor. 
Ancker succeeds Cynthia Gadd, PhD, MBA, MS, who is stepping down as vice chair for Educational Affairs.
“Jessica is well known to us in informatics, with an interesting background beginning with her time as a journalist and writer. She is one of the few faculty in informatics well versed in behavioral economics and in patient decision making,” said Kevin Johnson, MD, MS, professor and chair of Biomedical Informatics, professor of Pediatrics and informatician-in-chief at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
“Her skills and research interests fill a need we have in the department. Her passion for teaching and leading training programs made her an ideal candidate to follow in the expert footsteps of Cindy Gadd. Coupled with her incredible interpersonal skills and can-do attitude, we’re expecting her to be a fantastic addition to our team,” Johnson said.
Ancker received her bachelor’s degree from Harvard College, where she studied history and science; a master’s degree in biostatistics from Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health; and her doctorate in biomedical informatics from Columbia’s College of Physicians and Surgeons.
At Weill Cornell, she directed the master’s program in health informatics and a biostatistics and epidemiology module for medical students. She also regularly lectures on statistical literacy for journalists.
Her research includes analyzing the impact of telemedicine on patient outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic and finding the best ways to present data to patients.