From Foundations to Future of Informatics in Health
A symposium to celebrate and honor a founder of modern Biomedical Informatics on his 90th birthday.
Ed Hammond
This symposium recognizes Ed’s unprecedented career, outstanding achievements and significant contributions.
Ed catalyzed the development of biomedical informatics as a scientific discipline, demonstrating the feasibility of computer-based patient records, fostering international adoption of health information exchange standards, mentoring three generations of students and nurturing the organizations that support the field. Link to “How the Past Teaches the Future: ACMI Distinguished Lecture” by W. Ed Hammond, PhD
Ed’s work has had a profound impact on biostatistics by enhancing the integration of statistical methods with medical informatics, advancing research methodologies, and influencing the next generation of data scientists and biostatisticians.
Ed joined the US Navy in 1957 after graduating from Duke, attending flight school in Pensacola, Florida. Ed was active duty in the Navy until 1960. Dr. Hammond had a 33 year career with the US Naval Reserve, retiring in 1989 as a Captain. He served as the commanding officer of several units, including Emergency Response Team 6 and created an underwater navigation system for unmanned deep submersibles.
Dr. Hammond has played a foundational role in educating students through his extensive contributions in several key areas such as innovative curriculum development, mentorship and guidance, research leadership, integration of theory and practice, and promoting interdisciplinary education. Hammond’s work has left a lasting impact on Duke’s educational programs, equipping students with the knowledge, skills, and experience needed to excel in their respective fields.
~ You Are Invited ~
The Ed Hammond 90th Celebratory Scientific Symposium
From Foundations to Futrue of Informatics in Health
January 9th & 10th, 2025
Washington Duke Inn, Durham, NC
Sessions, Panel Discussions & Poster Sessions
Cocktail Reception & Dinner Banquet Thursday Evening
~ Early Bird Registration ends October 31, 2024 ~
Awards & Honors
Dr. William (Bill) Stead has led the nation in thinking about how biomedical informatics methods and architectures can improve health care systems for decades. His ideas coupled with his leadership have been significant at the local and the national level. He was the first editor of the Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association (JAMIA), a role that he held for ten years. The AMIA Stead Award for Thought Leadership in Informatics acknowledges people who have influenced our thinking about informatics, especially improving health and health care in ways that are visionary and transformative.
The 2015 award recipient was William Edward Hammond II.
The American College of Medical Informatics (ACMI) is an honorary society established to recognize those who have made sustained contributions to the field. As President of ACMI, Ed created the Morris F. Collen, M.D. Medal for Outstanding Contributions to the Field of Medical Informatics and presented the inaugural award to Morrie Collen in 1993. Dr. Collen’s efforts as a pioneer in the field stand out as the embodiment of creativity, intellectual rigor, perseverance, and personal integrity. In his introductory remarks, Ed noted that “a sign of maturity occurs in a field when we recognize that the field has produced an individual who has made defining, significant and lasting contributions to it. That moment has arrived in Medical Informatics.” Ed went on to receive the Award in 2003.
Once a year, when appropriate, the College gives its highest recognition to those whose attainments have, throughout their careers, substantially advanced the science and art of medical informatics.
The article “Presentation of the Morris F. Collen Award to William Edward Hammond II, PhD” highlights the award ceremony where William Edward Hammond II was honored with the Morris F. Collen Award. The article details Hammond’s outstanding achievements in the field, including his pioneering work and innovations that have significantly advanced medical informatics. The ceremony celebrated Hammond’s career, his impactful research, and his dedication to improving healthcare through the use of technology and data. The award reflects his exceptional contributions and the high regard in which he is held by his peers. Read the article in it’s entirety here.
For personal commitment and dedication to AMIA
with service on the Board of Directors for over a decade.
Board Treasurer: 1990-1991 and 1998-1999
Board Director: 1992-1994 and 1997
President-Elect: 2001
President: 2002-2003
Past President: 2004
Paul Clayton presented the 1999 AMIA President’s Award to Ed, “a pioneer in the field who has advanced the level of standards and served faithfully as treasurer of AMIA during a demanding time.”
Reed Gardner presented the 1997 AMIA President’s Award to Ed, “in recognition of his dedicated work in the development and promotion of medical informatics standards and his work as the champion of AMIA members and Working Groups.”
Received the AMIA Presidents Award on November 2, 1993.
AIMBE’s College of Fellows is comprised of almost 3,000 individuals who have made significant contributions to the medical and biological engineering (MBE) community in academia, industry, government, and education that have transformed the world.
Chair of the Data Standards Working Group of the Connecting for Health Public-Private Consortium
Chair of the Computer-based Patient Record Institute and on the CPRI Board
Ambassador to Developing Countries
Chair of the Joint Initiative Council of ISO/CEN/HL7
President of the American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA) and AMIA Board member
President and Fellow of the American College of Medical Informatics
*three terms as Chair of Health Level Seven and HL7 committees
*two terms as the Convenor of ISO Technical Committee 215 Working Group 2
Chair of the Data Standards Working Group of the Connecting for Health Public-Private Consortium
Chair of the Computer-based Patient Record Institute and on the CPRI Board.
Chair of ACM SIGBIO
Chair of the Steering Committee for the Rockefeller-sponsored Open Enterprise eHealth Architecture Framework Project
Member of the Institute of Medicine Committee on Patient Safety Data Standards
Member of the National Library of Medicine Long Range Planning Committee
Member of the Healthcare Information Technology Advisory Panel of the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations
"Bringing Together Clinical Information Resources" 1991 Duke SICU Video
This historical video captures The Medical Record (TMR) at it’s peak of which Ed was instrumental in developing. Content specialists for the video include William W. (Bill) Stead, MD, Kevin Fitzpatrick, PA, Ruby Grewal, Joseph Moylan, MD, and Edward Hammond, PhD.
“We believe the bedside computing system will be a powerful tool for hospital based epidemiologic studies.” Dr. Peter Kussin, Medical Director, MICU
Historical video courtesy of William W. Stead
AMIA 2003 Morris F. Collen Award
~ A Tribute to Ed ~
Colleagues share insights and thoughts on Ed’s extensive career and achievements.
Happy Birthday Ed!
Dear Ed - Happy Birthday! ~ Patti Brennan
“There is nothing better than to have traversed one’s career as an FoE (that’s FRIEND OF ED)!!” Patti Brennan, Professor Emerita, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Happy Birthday! ~ Betsy Humphreys
“Dear Ed, Happy Birthday — and thanks for never giving up on health data standardization.” 🙂 Betsy Humphreys, National Library of Medicine, retired
Happy 90th Ed! ~ George Hripcsak | Columbia University
“Thank you for the tremendous impact you have had so many careers including mine.” George Hripcsak, Professor
Happy Birthday! ~ James Cimino | University of Alabama-Birmingham
Ed – I can’t wait to see were we next share a Jack Daniels! James Cimino, Chair, Dept. of Biomedical Informatics & Data Science
Happy 90th to an Amazing Mentor! ~ Ken Kawamoto | Univ. of Utah
“Dear Ed, congratulations on your 90th Birthday! You’ve been an amazing lifelong mentor since I first discovered informatics as an MD/PhD student at Duke over 20 years ago. You are a truly amazing innovator, leader, mentor, role model, and friend.” Kensaku Kawamoto, Professor, University of Utah
Happy Birthday ~ Sarah Rossetti | Columbia University Irving Medical Center
“Dear Ed, Happy 90th Birthday!” Sarah Rossetti, Associate Professor
Happy Birthday ~ Martha Adams | Duke
“Happy birthday, Ed! You are a treasure beyond measure!” Martha Adams, MD
Happy Birthday! ~ Christopher Chute | Johns Hopkins University
“Ed’s leadership on data standards and interoperability has inspired generations.” Christopher Chute, Professor
Happy Birthday! ~ Jessilyn Dunn | Duke
“Ed exemplifies how our research can be a lifelong passion without being our only passion.” Jessilyn Dunn, Professor
Happy Birthday! ~ William Hersh | OHSU
“Ed, you are a treasured friend and colleague, and your contributions to informatics are timeless!” William Hersh, MD, Professor
Congratulations, Ed! ~ David Lobach | Elimu Informatics
“Congratulations, Ed, on your amazing life and career! Fantastic legacy. Happy 90th birthday!” David Lobach, VP Health Informatics Research
Happy Birthday! ~ Shelley Rusincovitch | Duke
“Ed’s mentorship and encouragement led me to a career in informatics that I didn’t know was possible.” Shelley Rusincovitch, Informaticist & Technical Leader
Happy Birthday! ~ Peter Szolovits | MIT
“Happy to celebrate one of the pioneers of my field and a heck of a fun guy as well!” Peter Szolovits, Professor
Happy 90th! ~ James Tcheng | Duke
“Ed – to a true leader and visionary who changed the world – Happy 90th!” James Tcheng, MD
Happy 90th Ed!! ~ Paul Tang | Stanford
“You are one of the OGs of medical informatics, Ed! Not only were you one of the first to put clinical data into a computer, you insisted that there be a standardized way of getting it out so it could be shared and analyzed. But, professional achievements aside, it is your infectious warmth, humor, and inexhaustible energy — both on the dance floor and off — that continue to inspire us all, propelling us toward a vision you helped set for healthcare. Thank you, Ed!” Paul Tang, Adjunct Professor
With very best regards ~ Lawrence Kingsland | National Library of Medicine
With very best regards from yet another who has admired your work for decades. Your contributions have inspired legions to become builders and leaders in our field. Larry Kingsland, Retired NLM
Happy Birthday, Ed!
Best Wishes,
Chuan Hong, Duke
Pan Xu, Duke
Judy Adkins, Duke
Happy Birthday! ~ Judy Ozbolt | University of Maryland
Thank you, Ed, for being always a true friend, a demanding mentor, and a generous guide who helped us find our way to concept-permanent, machine-readable terminology standards for nursing. Judy Ozbolt, Professor Emerita
Ed is one of my heroes! ~ David Potenziani | UNC - Chapel Hill
Ed is one of my heroes. Not just because of his work in health informatics, but his mountain-climbing and dancing skills in defiance of age. David Potenziani, Adjunct Faculty
Happy Birthday! ~ Rachel Richesson | University of Michigan
Seeing Ed’s work in HL7 and data standards motivated me to come to Duke. His collaboration and collegiality helped me thrive. His warmth and hospitality made me and my family feel welcome. We have such fond memories of various gatherings over the years. Looking forward joining the celebration for Ed’s special day! Rachel Richesson, Professor
Happy 90th! ~ Sam Squires | Duke
You have been an incredible mentor and role model. Happy 90th, and I wish you many more years full of adventures! Sam Squires, MMCi Program
Celebrating You! ~ David Yanez | Duke
Dear Ed, It is such a pleasure to be able to celebrate you and your career’s work at this symposium in your honor. Your amazing breadth of work and depth of thought is only paralleled by your timelessness. Happy Birthday, Ed! David Yanez, Professor
Congratulations! ~ Kirubel Asfaw | Duke
Congratulations Dr. Hammond! Kirubel Asfaw
Happy Birthday! ~ John Lumpkin | Blue Cross Blue Shield of NC Foundation
Your work and vision set the stage for the discoveries and innovations in health informatics we see today.
John Lumpkin,
Blue Cross Blue Shield of NC Foundation
Ed - Congratulations on your 90th! ~ Bill Stead | Vanderbilt
‘‘You are special – what others see as impossible, you view as a challenge, and you find a way to make it happen.
I have been truly blessed to have you as Professor, partner & friend for 54 years!” Bill Stead, Professor of Medicine
Happy Birthday! ~ Anru Zhang | Duke
‘‘Ed’s wisdom and support have been invaluable to us. On Ed’s 90th birthday, I want to express my deep gratitude for his mentorship and the long-lasting impact on our careers and community”
Anru Zhang, Associate Professor
Happy Birthday! ~ Warren Kibbe | National Institutes of Health/NCI
“Ed is the most innovative, energetic, and free thinking quantitative scientist!” Warren Kibbe, Deputy Director
Happy Birthday ~ Ben Goldstein | Duke
“Happy Birthday – What an amazing life!” Ben Goldstein, Professor
Happy Birthday Ed! ~ Elizabeth Thermos | Duke
“Happy Birthday Ed!” Elizabeth Thermos, Student & Assistant to Ed
Happy birthday! ~ Robert Greenes | Arizona State University
“Happy birthday to a pioneer and long-time friend! I have known Ed from the 1960s when he and other collaborators were inventing one of the first EHRs, including the mid-1980s when we rode an elephant together in Singapore. Over the many decades since, I have been amazed by Ed’s unflagging dedication to standards, his enthusiasm, and charm – not to mention his ballroom dancing skills, together with his late wife Kay, and beyond, and his exploits such as climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro in his 80s without the need for O2. Ed is clearly unique, and continues to be as spry as an energizer bunny! Keep it up, Ed!” Robert Greenes, Emeritus Professor
Congratulations, Ed! ~ Casimir Kulikowski | Rutgers - The State University of New Jersey
Congratulations, Ed on your incredible accomplishments in medical informatics, but also your wonderful dancing and disarmingly wry sense of humor! Casimir Kulikowski, Professor
Happy Birthday! ~ David Page | Duke
“Dear Ed, thank you for all that you do and have done for medicine and for all of informatics!” David Page, Chair, Department of B&B
Birthday Wishes ~ Don Detmer | University of Virginia
“Hi Ed: I’m always amazed that I was not aware of you when I was at Duke doing my residency in surgery with Dr. David Sabiston because I feel like I’ve known you all my life! From my earliest interests in informatics you were a major personality on the scene whether on the podium or the dance floor. In particular, I recall our time together in Taiwan but other scenes are equally memorable. Your ‘bag’ was standards policy and mine was a more general umbrella focused on EHRs and the national information infrastructure. Happily, both domains aimed in the same direction and were synergistic to one another.
Thanks for your major contributions and leadership over the years and for being such a consistent joyful colleague. We’ve all benefitted from you in many ways and I personally am quite grateful that we enjoyed the same stream of knowledge together. Best wishes going forward.” Don Detmer, Professor
Happy Birthday ~ Jeremy Warner | Brown University
“Such a joy to get to know you at the NLM Georgia Short Course – looking forward to this celebration!” Jeremy Warner
Happy Birthday! ~ Suzanne Bakken | Columbia
“Dear Ed, Thanks to your amazing contributions to advancing interoperability standard!” Suzanne Bakken, Professor
Happy Birthday! ~ Charlie Britt | Duke
“You are a Gentleman and a Scholar, Dr. Hammond!! It is my distinct honor to know you, Sir!” Charlie Britt, MMCi
Happy Birthday, Ed! ~ Lawrence ("Doc") Muhlbaier | Duke
“Happy Birthday, Ed. We started working together in 1972 in the basement of Pickens Clinic.” Lawrence (“Doc”) Muhlbaier, Emeritus Professor
Congratulations! ~ Todd Quartiere, | Foundation for AI & Health
“Ed congratulations on being a pioneer through the generations. Your impacts continue to ripple out.” Todd Quartiere
Happy 90th, Dr. Hammond! ~ Nami Wada | Duke
“Happy 90th, Dr. Hammond! It’s an honor to witness your living legacy.” Nami Wada, Project Manager
Happy Birthday! ~ Aretha Burford Cooper | Duke
“Ed, I love watching you do “The Floss”! It made me smile so much. Keep dancing!” Aretha Burford Cooper, Administrative Assistant
Happy Birthday! ~ Thomas Nechyba | Duke
Ed — it’s been a while, but I think of our interactions often and with great fondness. Happy Birthday! Thomas Nechyba, Department of Economics
Dear Old Friend and Fellow Ballroom Dancer ~ David Nickell
Ed, you are one of the finest, kindest gentleman I have ever encountered. Your enthusiasm for dance and your grace on the floor is unparalleled. You ARE, indeed the MAN. I celebrate you and how seasoned and experienced you are, young man! David Nickell
Thank You for Sharing Your Gifts! ~ Meredith Zozus | University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio
The most beautiful and impactful gifts in my life have been Ed’s mentorship and friendship. To me, these are immeasurable. However, they pale in comparison to his Electronic Health Records innovation, his role in starting and nurturing the Health Level Seven (HL7) community, and the resulting progress that has been made in clinical data interoperability. These are some of Ed’s gifts to the world. Meredith Zozus
We Celebrate You! ~ Reza Rostami | Duke
We celebrate a truly extraordinary milestone – the 90th birthday of an extraordinary colleague with tremendous contributions during his lifetime. Happy Birthday, Ed! Reza Rostami,
Associate Director, Quality Management
Thank you ~ Laine Thomas | Duke
Thank you for your leadership and service to Duke and our Department! Laine Thomas, Professor
Happy Birthday! ~ Nuria Adem | Duke MMCi
Dr. Hammond is a distinguished educator and guest speaker in the MMCi program. I feel privileged to have met him, a foundational figure in HL7 standards. For over 20 years, I have learned about HL7 and message translation, never expecting to meet its founder. Happy Birthday, Dr. Hammond, and thank you for your wisdom! Nuria Adem
Happy Birthday, Ed! ~ Nicoleta Economou | Duke
Congratulations on such an impactful journey with great accomplishments! Seeing your journey is truly inspirational as not only has your work paved the road for others to follow but also you are a kind human that cares for all. Wishing you and your loved ones the very best always!
Nicoleta Economou,
DUHS Commitment, Colleague; Director of Duke Health AI Evaluation & Governance
Best Wishes! ~ Rebecca Wilgus | Duke
Wishing you the very Happiest of Birthdays, Ed!!
Rebecca Wilgus, Duke Clinical Research Institute
It's Been a Joy! ~ Lloyd Michener | Duke
Ed – you have been a joy to work with, a teacher when I did not know I needed to learn, a colleague who always had hope to share, and a friend who showed you really can dance through life. Lloyd Michener,
Duke Family & Community Medicine
Ed the Fearless Leader ~ Stephen Lloyd | The University of South Carolina
Ed was our fearless leader, joining Bill Stead, Alton Brantley and the others who joined Hammond’s Operating Group (the HOGs). We blazed new trails in on-line patient data entry, interactive questionnaires, the Obstetrical Record, and the standardized H&P for heart cath admissions. Ed lead a group of dedicated, visionary collaborators employing lab minicomputers. Stephen Lloyd
Wishing you a Wonderful Birthday! ~ Nancy Lorenzi | Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Ed, Have a wonderful birthday. I am looking forward to this special conference. Nancy Lorenzi
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