Martin C. Were, MD, MS, FAMIA, FACMI, FIAHSI

Research Interests: Biomedical Informatics (including Clinical, Research and Public Health Informatics); Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning; Digital Health and Clinical Decision Support; Research and Data Infrastructure; Health Information Exchange and Interoperability; Implementation Science; Education and Training/Capacity Building; Responsible AI.

Project Settings: United States and global health programs

Martin C. Were, MD, MS, is Professor of Biomedical Informatics and Medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC). He has appointments in the Department of Biomedical Informatics and Medicine and is core faculty within the Institute for Global Health. He is board certified in internal medicine and clinical informatics and has over 20 years of experience developing, implementing, and evaluating informatics approaches for clinical care and research in the United States and internationally.

Clinical Informatics and Digital Health

Dr. Were's clinical informatics research focuses on electronic health records, health information exchange, patient matching, terminology and metadata management, interoperability, clinical decision support, and digital health. He continues to practice inpatient internal medicine at VUMC, grounding his informatics work in clinical workflows and the realities of data generated during routine care.

He founded mUzima, an open-source mobile health platform that extends EHR functionality to frontline settings through offline workflows, data collection, decision support, biometrics, and teleconsultation. His global work has included large-scale clinical and research information systems supporting HIV and other conditions across Africa, including informatics leadership within the AMPATH partnership.

Research Informatics and Data Infrastructure

A major focus of Dr. Were's work is creating research-ready information infrastructure from heterogeneous clinical data. In the United States, he is co-Principal Investigator and informatics leader for the STAR Clinical Research Network within PCORnet. He leads efforts to strengthen research intake, expand data integration, improve data quality and reuse, support query and phenotype development, enable clinical and interventional research, and develop scalable informatics approaches across participating health systems.

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning

Artificial intelligence and machine learning are increasingly central to Dr. Were's research. His work includes deep learning-based hemoglobin estimation from eye images and on virtual AI agents to support consultation processes in areas with limited resources. He has also worked on responsible use and socio-on ethical implications of health AI. He contributes to NIH-supported national initiatives including Bridge2AI and AIM-AHEAD projects.

Education, Capacity Building, and Global Informatics

Dr. Were has led major biomedical informatics programs internationally. He helped establish the Institute of Biomedical Informatics at Moi University and served as Acting Director from 2015-2019. He led development of graduate-level biomedical informatics training in Kenya, Uganda and Mozambique. , has mentored master's, doctoral, postdoctoral, and clinical investigators. His global portfolio includes health information systems, digital health, interoperability, research infrastructure, and implementation research across multiple African countries.

Scholarship and Professional Leadership

Dr. Were has authored more than 100 peer-reviewed publications spanning biomedical and clinical informatics, research informatics, digital health, clinical decision support, AI/ML, health data systems, implementation science, ethics, and equity. His professional service has included membership on the Board of Scientific Counselors of the Lister Hill National Center for Biomedical Communications at the U.S. National Library of Medicine, leadership roles for the mHealth Alliance Evidence Working Group and the Pan African Health Informatics Association. He is a Fellow of the American College of Medical Informatics (FACMI), Fellow of the International Academy of Health Sciences Informatics (FIAHSI), and Fellow of the American Medical Informatics Association (FAMIA).

Education

• Bachelor of Arts (AB), Molecular Biology and Biochemistry - Harvard College, Cambridge, MA, USA
• Doctor of Medicine (MD) - Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
• Internal Medicine Residency - Brigham and Women's Hospital / Harvard Medical School
• MS, Clinical Research - Indiana University, Indianapolis, IN, USA
• Medical Informatics Fellowship - Regenstrief Institute / Indiana University; National Library of Medicine-sponsored, Indianapolis, IN, USA

See Dr. Were's recent publications below: