Forging Ahead

Author | Lauren Crawford

Photo by Bryan Mitchell

Oliver Jintha Gadabu (Ph.D. candidate 2022) is a pioneer of sorts: He is one of the very first students to pursue a doctorate in health infrastructures and learning systems, an innovative program at the Medical School that blends information and social sciences in order to transform health care. Growing up, Gadabu was eager to study medicine, but a passion for IT and an investigative mind steered him toward infrastructure research. Instead of treating patients, Gadabu wants to treat and improve the systems by which they are cared for — to yield change at a foundational level. 

While working at the Baobab Health Trust in his hometown of Lilongwe, Malawi, Gadabu heard about the U-M Department of Learning Health Sciences — the first of its kind in the nation — from colleagues, and, a short time later, he made the 8,000-mile trip to Ann Arbor to help forge this nascent field. 

"It is an exciting feeling to be considered the pioneer cohort in a field. At the same time, it brings the responsibility of setting the standard: We need to create an identity, to develop language that should be relevant to different fields. The advantage, of course, is that we are getting a head start — this program is at the frontier of putting knowledge into practice. The vision of learning health systems is being built at the University of Michigan, and it is exciting to be part of that process." —Oliver Jintha Gadabu (Ph.D. candidate 2022)


More Articles About: PhD Health Infrastructures Learning Systems Medical School Student HILS
Featured News & Stories black and white photo of mustafa saadi standing in front of a building
Medicine at Michigan
From investment banker to future doctor
Mustafa Saadi, M4, started in the finance world and is finding a second career in medicine.
headshot of alice zheng wearing a black blazer and purple blouse
Medicine at Michigan
Alice Zheng was once skeptical of business
The course of Alice Zheng’s life changed when she audited a class at the U-M Ross School of Business during her first year of medical school. Before taking the class, Zheng was skeptical of business. Now she’s a venture capitalist supporting women’s health.
Watercolor illustration of two women in conversation sitting in chairs and facing each other.
Medicine at Michigan
Q&A: Advice for an aspiring physician
A physician-scientist talks with a new medical student about what it takes to achieve career goals — and work-life balance.
headshot of henry bell. he has glasses and is wearing a tuxedo with a gold and blue bowtie.
Medicine at Michigan
An early injury inspired a career in medicine
When Henry Bell Jr. was a young boy, his sister was mowing the lawn and ran over the rock, which hit him in the eye. He spent two weeks in the hospital and discovered his dream: to become an ophthalmologist.
Timothy Blackwell, M.D.
News Release
Timothy S. Blackwell, M.D., named the chair of U-M Department of Internal Medicine
Lung disease specialist comes to Michigan from Vanderbilt University School of Medicine to lead largest department
News Release
U-M Medical School sees significant growth in NIH research awards and ranking
Based on recent federal fiscal year data released by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the largest single funder of biomedical research in the world, the U-M Medical School is ranked number 11 in the country, up from 13 in federal fiscal year 2022.