Dr. Zhe He, iSchool Associate Professor and Interim Director of the Institute for Successful Longevity, has earned national recognition at the American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA) 2024 Annual Symposium for his groundbreaking research on seasonal variations in lab test results among Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) patients.
The paper, “Assessing the Seasonality of Lab Tests Among Patients with Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias in OneFlorida Data Trust,” placed third in the AMIA Knowledge Discovery and Data Mining Innovation Award category.
The study analyzed electronic health record data from 34,303 AD patients within the OneFlorida Data Trust. Results showed that, likely due to seasonal illnesses and allergens, patients’ glucose, neutrophils, and white blood cell levels were higher in winter, while other immune cells peaked in summer. Additionally, these fluctuations were more pronounced in older adults (80+) and showed greater seasonal variation in females than males.
“These findings underscore the inadequacy of current lab test reference intervals, which don’t account for seasonal or patient-specific factors,” Dr. He explained. “Adjusting these intervals could enhance diagnostic precision and improve personalized care for AD patients.”
Beyond its clinical implications, the research highlights the potential for health IT systems, such as patient portals, to provide tailored lab result interpretations, improving patient engagement and shared decision-making.
With 16 years of involvement in AMIA, Dr. He emphasized how the organization shaped his career, fostering interdisciplinary collaboration and advancing data-driven approaches in biomedical informatics. Looking ahead, he sees data privacy, AI-driven healthcare solutions, AI ethics, and transparency as key challenges
and opportunities in the field due to regulatory, usability, and trust issues among clinicians and patients.
“The interdisciplinary nature of biomedical informatics—melding computer science, information science, and healthcare—provides a unique opportunity to develop solutions that improve health outcomes and empower patients and providers alike,” Dr. He said, “AMIA plays a crucial role in bridging research and clinical application. By setting standards for ethical AI, data interoperability, and health information exchange, it ensures that informatics innovations are both impactful and responsible,”
Dr. He also hosted a workshop in AMIA 2024 on “Empowering Healthcare with Knowledge-Augmented Large Language Model” with more than 180 attendees.