Meharry Medical College leaders have formed a new School of Applied Computational Sciences that will offer master's programs in data and biomedical sciences starting in August.
The school will be the nucleus of Meharry’s computational sciences academic training and research, according to a press release, and will look to launch doctoral programs in biomedical data science by fall 2022. Word of the historically Black medical school’s fourth academic college comes amid massive growth in the use of data in health care and expands on Meharry’s Data Science Institute launched in 2018 to study medical, social and environmental trends in the health of minority and underserved populations.
“Data science will play an increasingly important role in health care delivery and the discovery of new interventions,” Meharry President and CEO James Hildreth said in the release. “The new school, part of a transformative strategic plan, will allow us to equip our students and faculty to apply the power of data science to the goal of achieving health equity.”
Fortune Mhlanga, executive director of the Data Science Institute, will serve as founding dean of the new school. Mhlanga will oversee strategy, faculty recruitment, academic programs, industry and research partnerships and growth. He previously led the effort to establish the College of Computing and Technology at Lipscomb University and developed similar programs at Faulkner’s University and the Scientific and Industrial Research and Development Center in Zimbabwe.
“The School of Applied Computational Sciences will foster a culture of discovery, learning and engagement that will expand the impact of our research enterprise beyond Meharry’s campus,” Mhlanga said. “Our initiatives in research, combined with our developing partnerships in many industries, will enrich the academic experience with opportunities for students to apply their learnings to solve real business problems.”
