Olivia Velez, PhD, MS, MPH, RN
Columbia University
Dr. Vélez is a National Library of Medicine Post-Doctoral Research Fellow in Biomedical Informatics at Columbia University. Her research focuses on the use of mobile health (mHealth) tools to support knowledge work and clinical decision making for nurses, midwives, and health extension workers in Sub-Saharan Africa. Dr. Velez, a Jonas Nurse Leaders Scholar, is a graduate of the Columbia University School of Nursing Entry-to-Practice program (2006) and PhD program (2011), as well as holding an MPH from the Mailman School of Public Health (2008) and a Masters in Information Systems (2001) from Western New England College. Prior to coming to Columbia, Dr. Velez worked for 8 years in various clinical applications development and implementation roles in a variety of healthcare settings. In 2001, she was the project manager for one of the first electronic health records implemented at a federally-funded community health center. The experience taught her the need for incorporating end-users into design processes and the need for developers to conduct on-site workflow evaluations.
