YSM leads dialogue on the future of biomedical research
YSPH & UConn Health advance inclusive patient care
YSN streamlines clinical rotation management with eValue
Enhancing access with the Ask Yale Health chatbot
Yale Executive MPH program - innovation meets flexibility
New learning management system for MD and PA programs
Advancing data-driven science with Spinup+ for Yale researchers - from deployment to discovery
Educational Technology and Innovation projects recognized at DOCS meeting
PopHIVE: A new era in public health data access
Modernizing YSM legacy systems - HSIT leads migration of FileMaker applications for agility and security
Review of key IT service changes for the health campus
Employee Spotlight
Open Positions
Other Happenings
YSM leadership participated as panelists at the Milken Institute's Future of Health Summit 2025 and discussed challenges facing Biomedical workforce in the US
YSM LEADS DIALOGUE ON THE FUTURE OF BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH: At the Milken Institute’s Future of Health Summit, Yale School of Medicine (YSM) Dean Nancy J. Brown, MD, joined thought leaders to tackle the pressing challenges facing the U.S. biomedical workforce—from funding uncertainty to immigration concerns. Dean Brown emphasized the need for institutions to invest directly in early-career researchers, moving beyond traditional NIH models, and highlighted the importance of optimism in retaining talent and how technology is reshaping biomedical research and workforce strategies. With genomics, machine learning, and advanced computational tools driving breakthroughs, the discussion underscored the need for flexible funding models and tech-enabled talent development. The takeaway: integrating IT innovation into healthcare is the key to sustaining progress and solving tomorrow’s challenges. YSPH & UCONN HEALTH ADVANCE INCLUSIVE PATIENT CARE: Yale School of Public Health (YSPH), in collaboration with UConn Health, is driving improvements in patient-centered care by expanding the number of options for race, ethnicity, and language (REL) in the Epic MyChart patient portal. These enhancements allow patients to self-identify more accurately and select multiple categories, fostering better communication, and pinpointing health disparities. The initiative involved close collaboration between IT analysts and clinical teams to ensure seamless integration and user-friendly workflows. These changes align with Connecticut’s new law on inclusive data collection and reflect a shared commitment to patient-centered care. YSN STREAMLINES CLINICAL ROTATION MANAGEMENT WITH EVALUE: Yale School of Nursing (YSN) manages an impressive logistical challenge each semester for its clinical rotations function: placing approximately 400 students across 300 clinical sites while ensuring quality educational experiences and regulatory compliance. The program leverages eValue technology to centralize critical placement data, including preceptor qualifications and curriculum vitae, active affiliation agreements, and site-specific requirements. This system enables staff to verify that preceptor credentials align with clinical objectives and track student compliance with individual site requirements throughout the semester. While eValue serves as the primary platform for managing preceptors, clinical sites, and scheduling data, the team supplements it with Excel during peak recruitment periods to address communication and scheduling workflow needs. This hybrid approach allows YSN to maintain efficient operations while coordinating hundreds of placements that provide students with diverse, high-quality clinical learning experience. ENHANCING ACCESS WITH THE ASK YALE HEALTH CHATBOT: Yale Health recently introduced Ask Yale Health, a website chatbot designed to help members, students, and visitors quickly find reliable information around the clock. The tool was developed in partnership with Yale ITS, making Yale Health one of the first campus groups to adopt this technology. The project brought together communications, IT, and operational teams to ensure the chatbot reflects real questions our community asks. It draws only from Yale Health’s website and official health plan documents and excludes clinical content to avoid any risk of it offering medical advice. It reads PDFs directly to simplify maintenance. Testing included staff, clinicians, students, and the Patient and Family Council, allowing us to refine tone, accuracy, and clarity based on broad feedback. This process also revealed that strong website content is essential, prompting us to update and streamline our pages. Now in full production, staff often use the tool while assisting callers, and students appreciate having quick answers at hand. One unexpected benefit is how effectively the chatbot helps flag outdated or unclear website content, allowing us to correct issues in real time. YALE EXECUTIVE MPH PROGRAM - INNOVATION MEETS FLEXIBILITY: The Yale School of Public Health Executive MPH program is designed for working professionals seeking advanced public health expertise without sacrificing career momentum. Delivered through a dynamic hybrid model, the program combines online asynchronous learning with live virtual seminars and three immersive on-campus intensives. Leveraging cutting-edge digital platforms, participants gain collaborative, tech-enabled learning experiences while building leadership, strategic problem-solving, and executive communication skills. Students progress through a cohort structure, fostering collaboration and professional growth while gaining a strong foundation in public health and specialized training. This forward-thinking approach ensures graduates are equipped to drive impactful change in an increasingly digital and data-driven health landscape. NEW LEARNING MANAGEMENT SYSTEM FOR MD AND PA STUDENTS: The YSM Office of Curriculum is thrilled to announce the launch of a new Learning Management System (LMS), Elentra, debuting to some learners in early 2026, offering enhanced collaboration tools, mobile compatibility, and advanced analytics. In alignment with this upgrade, the current LMS, BlueDogs, will be phased out by the end of this academic year. Ample support will be provided to ensure a smooth transition. Contact the YSM Educational Technology & Innovation team with any questions about this upcoming change. ADVANCING DATA-DRIVEN SCIENCE WITH SPINUP+ FOR YALE RESEARCHERS - FROM DEPLOYMENT TO DISCOVERY: Since its launch in August 2025, the Health Sciences IT (HSIT) Research Systems team, in collaboration with the Yale Biomedical Informatics Core (YBIC), has begun onboarding research projects to SpinUp+—a fully managed, secure computing environment purpose-built for human subjects’ research involving sensitive data. It complements Hopper but provides greater customization for projects requiring heightened security. HSIT handles deployment, updates, and system integrity so researchers can focus on discovery. Yale investigators are already leveraging SpinUp+ to advance data-driven science responsibly through streamlined onboarding, built-in compliance, and scalable infrastructure that combines cutting-edge technology with the security frameworks essential for modern health sciences research. There are already 22 Hopper projects and seven Spinup+ projects underway with support of HSIT Research Systems.
EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY & INNOVATION PROJECTS RECOGNIZED AT DOCS MEETING: At the recent Directors of Clinical Skills Education (DOCS) Annual Meeting in San Antonio, Jaideep Talwalkar, MD, was awarded "Outstanding Research Poster" for "Impact of an Ambient AI Scribe on Pre-clerkship Medical Student OSCE Notes". Talwalkar also contributed to "Independent Validation of AI-Generated Feedback for Medical Student Clinical Communication Skills”, which was awarded "Outstanding Innovation Poster."
POPHIVE - A NEW ERA IN PUBLIC HEALTH DATA ACCESS: Yale School of Public Health has launched PopHIVE (Population Health Information Visual Explorer), a data dashboard designed to democratize access to public health information. PopHIVE integrates data from multiple sources, including CDC projects, Google Health trends, EPIC Cosmos, and Carnegie Mellon’s Delphi, to provide timely insights into infectious and chronic diseases. The platform proved invaluable during the recent government shutdown by tracking RSV trends when federal dashboards were offline. Funded through philanthropic support, PopHIVE aims to expand into areas like injury, overdose, and youth well-being, offering actionable, real-time data to public health leaders and communities.
MODERNIZING YSM LEGACY SYSTEMS - HSIT LEADS MIGRATION OF FILEMAKER APPLICATIONS FOR AGILITY AND SECURITY: Driven by the need to mitigate data risks and transition to modern computing environments, Health Sciences IT (HSIT) is actively evaluating and migrating legacy FileMaker projects across Yale School of Medicine (YSM). Currently, there are 65 YSM software applications in production built on the legacy FileMaker platform, many of which date back more than 25 years. Historically, these applications were developed by individual departments to address specific needs, with stewardship spread across multiple owners. These applications present significant technical debt: many are decades old and lack centralized oversight and stewardship over the high-risk data contained therein. Once a popular platform, these legacy applications may now serve as ideal use cases for modern low-code platforms such as Salesforce and OutSystems, or alternative platforms such as REDCap and PPMS. HSIT will work closely with system owners to design the most effective ways to reduce technical debt and ensure secure, scalable solutions, including detailed steps, cost assumptions, training, education, and transition timelines. These strategic initiatives are poised to deliver significant improvements in agility, security, and cost-effectiveness.
NOVEMBER 2025 TIPS AND REMINDERS FOR IT SERVICE CHANGES FOR HEALTH CAMPUS:
Software Support
Box at Yale
As announced in October, Yale will retire from the Box at Yale service on March 31, 2026. Currently there are more than 8,000 users utilizing more than 450 TB of storage with 90,000 collaborators.
Users are encouraged to transition their files to free, Yale-supported Microsoft 365 tools such as OneDrive, Teams, and SharePoint. Read more about available storage options.
Customer Support Requests
Enhancing IT Help Desk Support
ITS has expanded online chat support to provide faster and more accessible assistance.
Phone support has also been enhanced with a new voicemail-to-ticket feature and the option to schedule a callback for those who prefer not to wait on hold.
Since implementing these changes, ITS has reduced overall wait times by 50%.
Coming Soon: New ServiceNow Forms
A new ServiceNow access request workflow will launch in early 2026.
Clinical and operational users will be able to request access to Epic and other Yale New Haven Hospital-managed systems for non-research work.
Research project–specific requests will allow access tied to an active or IRB-approved protocol and will require PI or manager approval.
De-identified research data requests will support feasibility work and will require manager approval and HIPAA training or attestation.
Research administration users will be able to request broad, cross-departmental access with manager approval.
Coming Soon: YSM Hardware Procurement Policy
HSIT has designed a new hardware purchase policy with YSM leadership and faculty. The policy introduces a single, predictable process for acquiring high-quality, securely managed devices.
The modernized purchasing process will shorten wait times, improve support, and enhance overall security. Devices will meet university standards for protection and performance, safeguarding research and education. The initiative aims to provide faster service, fewer disruptions, and a more consistent user experience.
Expect more news about this policy in the coming months, with the first changes coming in mid-2026.
EMPLOYEE SPOTLIGHT
Valdino Arduini, project manager from HSIT Research Systems was recognized with the Linda Lorimer Award for Distinguished Service as part of a collaborative team that developed the Hopper and Spinup+ platforms. His work not only accelerates groundbreaking discoveries but also sets a benchmark for collaboration and technical excellence. Valdino’s contributions exemplify innovation and teamwork, setting a new standard for large-scale IT projects that advance Yale’s mission.
WE'RE HIRING
Software Engineer 3 - Campus Health Systems (127398WD internal candidates only)
