The Department of Biomedical Informatics is delighted to announce that Dr. Kensaku Kawamoto, MD, PhD, MHS, FACMI, FAMIA, has been appointed as the inaugural Dr. Helmuth F. Orthner Endowed Professor, a new professorship established in memory of Dr. Orthner to promote excellence in teaching and research in biomedical informatics.
The Dr. Helmuth F. Orthner Endowed Professorship was created by Carolyn Orthner in honor of her late husband’s legacy as a mentor, educator, and leader in the field. It aims to support faculty whose work advances innovation, service, and scholarly impact in biomedical informatics. Dr. Kawamoto joins this role with a distinguished record of national and international leadership. After earning his undergraduate degree at Harvard and his MD, PhD, and MHS degrees at Duke, he joined the University of Utah’s Department of Biomedical Informatics in 2011. He currently serves as Professor and Vice Chair for Clinical Informatics, Associate Chief Medical Information Officer, and Founding Director of the ReImagine EHR Initiative.
Under his guidance, the ReImagine EHR Initiative has secured more than $60 million in external funding and produced scalable, standards-based tools improving care across diverse clinical settings. Dr. Kawamoto’s classic BMJ work on clinical decision support (CDS) has been cited over 3,200 times, and he has helped shape international standards via his co‑leadership of the HL7 Clinical Decision Support Work Group. He is also recognized for his collaborative spirit, mentorship, and commitment to equitable care. This appointment both honors Dr. Orthner’s enduring influence and marks a new chapter in the Department’s commitment to excellence in informatics research, education, and translational impact.
Please join us in congratulating Dr. Kawamoto on this well‑deserved honor and celebrating the continuing legacy of the Orthner Professorship.