Biomedical informatics (BMI) is the interdisciplinary, scientific field that studies and pursues the effective uses of biomedical data, information, and knowledge for scientific inquiry, problem solving and decision-making, motivated by efforts to improve human health. BMI is a meta-discipline, however, and does not exist by itself. Rather BMI builds on computing, communication and information sciences and technologies and their application in biomedicine. To that effect BMI can be viewed as a practical and applied discipline whose existence is intimately linked to current healthcare processes and whose intellectual products can have immediate benefit on healthcare and healthcare delivery. The new Division of Biomedical Informatics in the Department of Biostatistics in the College of Public Health represents the academic hub of BMI on the University of Kentucky Campus. The new Division will focus on the innovative uses of existing data and health information technology in supporting, public health, healthcare delivery and quality improvement activities while supporting research.