Haendel briefed journalists in September 2021: Rare Diseases: Small Numbers, Big Problem.

Melissa Haendel is the Chief Research Informatics Officer at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical School and Director of the Center for Data to Health (CD2H). Her background is in molecular genetics and developmental biology, as well as translational informatics, with a focus over the past decade on open science and semantic engineering. Haendel’s vision is to weave together healthcare systems, basic science research, and patient-generated data through the development of data integration technologies and innovative data capture strategies. Her research has focused on the integration of genotype-phenotype data to improve rare disease diagnosis and mechanism discovery. She also leads and participates in international standards organizations to support improved data sharing and utility worldwide.