Randi E. Foraker, PhD, MA, FAHA, FAMIA

Randi Foraker, PhD, MA, FAHA, FAMIA

Director, Center for Population Health Informatics at the Institute for Informatics

Professor of Medicine, Division of General Medical Sciences, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis

Professor of Public Health, Brown School, Washington University in St. Louis

randi.foraker@wustl.edu

Randi Foraker, PhD, MA, is the Director of the Center for Population Health Informatics (CPHI) at the Institute for Informatics (I2) and a Professor of General Medical Sciences at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. Dr. Foraker also serves as Director of the Public Health Data and Training Center for the Institute for Public Health. As director of the Data and Training Center, she aims to amplify public health knowledge through data sharing, strategic partnerships with the community, and the training of future public health leaders. Dr. Foraker’s most recent research focuses on the application of clinical decision support to complement risk scoring in primary care, cardiology, and oncology.
Currently, she has serves as PI of the COVID umbrella IRB leveraging electronic health record data at Washington University in St. Louis and works closely with investigators who conduct research using data from our COVID Data Commons, which is maintained by I2. Dr. Foraker chairs the Epidemiology Strike Force and convenes members of the St. Louis City, St. Louis County, Jefferson County, Franklin County, and St. Charles County Departments of Public Health on a weekly basis along with academic, health system, and business partners to assist with their data architecture, management, and analytic needs during the pandemic and beyond.
Dr. Foraker is leveraging the expertise of these centers to serve the needs of the St. Louis area in two important ways: by harmonizing and analyzing data from three large health care providers and by working with local health departments to create a regional data alliance. She is passionate about data, but not just for their own sake. A background in education and health promotion, combined with training as an epidemiologist, means Dr. Foraker knows how to use health data to empower health care clients and providers.
In recognition of her hard work, the Academic Women’s Network chose Dr. Foraker for their 2020 Presidential Award for exceptional service in science during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Dr. Foraker received her PhD in epidemiology from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where her research focused on evaluating the impact of socioeconomic status on incident cardiovascular disease, receipt of cardiovascular treatments, and the progression of heart failure. Dr. Foraker also received her undergraduate and graduate degrees in education and health promotion, respectively, from The University of Iowa.