Shelle Hyde is a member of the inaugural class for the Health Informatics certificate program, offered jointly by the School of Information and the School of Public Health. The certificate program is the precursor to the Health Informatics master’s degree program which will enroll its first class in fall 2012.

An MSI student specializing in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), Shelle is also co-president and a founding member of the University of Michigan Health Informatics Society. Her undergraduate degree is from Brigham Young University, where she earned a B.S. in integrative biology in 2009.

Shelle’s interest in health informatics pre-dates her decision to come to SI. Working as a medical informatics intern sparked her interest in understanding how information technology influences healthcare and how patients and clinicians can be empowered to reach better health outcomes.

“As an HCI student, my particular interest is in improving the usability and user experience of health technologies,” she says. “SI health informatics core classes have given me an insight into the industry background, relevant government policies, and information about current trends in development. This has facilitated my personal and internship-based research into clinical and consumer-facing health technologies that help improve patients' abilities to adhere to care regimens and better maintain their own health.” 

Shelle is currently an Information Technology and Strategies intern at Altarum Institute. Previously she worked as a Market Analyst intern at Health 2.0, where she drafted a report to The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) on the state and trends of innovation in health technology.