Philip R. O. Payne, a global leader in informatics and data science, has been named an inaugural Janet and Bernard Becker Professor at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. Among his many leadership roles, Payne oversees the university’s Institute for Informatics, Data Science and Biostatistics as well as the Bernard Becker Medical Library. This professorship was established to support the library’s leadership.
Payne, the associate dean for health information and data science, and chief data scientist at the School of Medicine, was installed by Chancellor Andrew D. Martin and David H. Perlmutter, MD, executive vice chancellor for medical affairs, the George and Carol Bauer Dean of the School of Medicine, and the Spencer T. and Ann W. Olin Distinguished Professor.
“I am pleased to recognize Philip Payne with the Becker professorship and to take this opportunity to recognize the legacy of the Beckers in supporting Washington University,” Martin said. “Philip has transformed the informatics and data landscape of the university, creating massive new systems and informatics tools that nurture collaborations and new approaches to research that simply were not possible until recently. And we are grateful for the legacy of Janet and Bernard Becker in their dedicated support, which continues to help provide the resources necessary for Philip and his colleagues to make tremendous strides in harnessing the latest tools of big data, including data sharing, machine learning and artificial intelligence, to pursue cutting-edge research in medicine and health care.”
Payne also holds appointments as a professor of general medical sciences and of computer science and engineering.