Peggy Peissig, PhD, MBA, has been named Director of the Biomedical Informatics Research Center (BIRC) at Marshfield Clinic Research Foundation (MCRF). “Peggy has shown outstanding leadership serving as the Interim Director and we are delighted that she has accepted the position of Director,” said Dr. Robert Steiner, MCRF Executive Director. “Dr. Peissig will also serve as Chief Research Informatics Officer for MCRF.”
BIRC conducts cutting-edge biomedical research and translates scientific discoveries into clinical and dental practice through innovation, collaboration, and application of informatics best practices to improve patient health. “We use information technology to solve clinical problems so that our physicians can benefit and provide the best possible care to the patient,” Peissig said. “It’s our way of helping Marshfield Clinic patients.”
BIRC is involved in many of the integral day-to-day operations and behind-the-scene work that support research and MCRF operations. BIRC provides analytics, data knowledge, application development, software evaluation, and a state-of-the-art computing environment to its researchers. BIRC’s research makes a difference in patient care. For example, BIRC recently collaborated with representatives from the Center for Human Genetics, Marshfield Laboratory, Pharmacy, and Marshfield Clinic Information Systems to develop drug prescribing alerts that notify physicians of a possible adverse drug reaction when prescribing a medication to a patient. These alerts are based on a patient’s genetic makeup and reaction to a specific medication.
Dr. Peissig is a nationally recognized expert in electronic health record (EHR) phenotyping. Peissig specializes in the application of machine learning methods for detecting adverse drug events and EHR phenotyping; implementing pharmacogenomics alerts into clinical practice; and evaluating brand-name and generic medication utilization and patient outcomes. She has published over 45 original peer-reviewed publications and retains solid research grant funding from the National Institute of Health and the FDA.
Dr. Peissig has contributed to the success of Marshfield Clinic Health System for almost 25 years, with more than two decades of experience in the area of information technology and translational and clinical informatics. While working in Marshfield Clinic Information Systems, Peissig led the development of the enterprise data warehouse along with overseeing decision support and administrative systems development.
“Peggy has done a tremendous job leading BIRC as interim director and has contributed to the success of Marshfield Clinic Health System in many different ways over the past 25 years,” said Dr. Robert Steiner. “We very much look forward to her continuing to lead this vital research center.”