Thomas G. Kannampallil, PhD

2023 Dean’s Impact Award Recipient

Thomas Kannampallil, PhD, was named the inaugural director of acute care innovative research following an extensive search in 2022. He used his expertise in systems management and research by leading the development of an institutional and regional data warehouse that aggregated comprehensive clinical data on COVID-19 patients; this data warehouse, in addition to being the central resource for several published studies (>25) and day-to-day operational decision making, was the basis for the institution’s data sharing efforts for national registries such as N3C (National COVID Cohort Collaborative). During the early phase of the pandemic, Kannampallil was able to translate efforts into three large R01 grants. These grants were focused on developing informatics-inspired solutions to address the grand challenges facing the health care community — addressing the acute challenges associated with clinician wellness and turnover, integrating and streamlining telemedicine practice and its implications for care outcomes, and EHR-integrated behavioral interventions for managing the physical and mental health of older adults. Kannampallil’s contributions in research and systems leadership continue to have long lasting effects on the department and the future of large-scale, multi-institutional “touchless trials.”