NCATS’s Michael Recognized as ‘Champion of Change’

NCATS CIO Sam Michael

NCATS CIO Sam Michael recently was recognized with a Service to the Citizen: Champions of Change Award for his leadership in the National Covid Cohort Collaborative (N3C) initiative.

N3C is a data resource that systematically collects data from electronic health records from different institutions and harmonizes the data into a centralized tool available for clinicians and researchers to study Covid-19. The data will help them better understand the disease, design clinical studies, identify potential treatments and more. For example, researchers are using N3C data to better understand why some people experience long-term Covid symptoms, the effects of Covid-19 on infant and maternal health, and outcomes in Covid-19 patients with chronic conditions.

N3C is a collection of close to 100 research institutions and thousands of users supported by cloud-based computer networks. Michael helped design the technical aspects of the project, serving as its primary architect to enable institutions to securely share and use electronic health record data for Covid-19 research. 

The Champions of Change Program acknowledges public servants and their industry partners who demonstrate excellence in delivery of services that impact people’s lives. Awardees were recognized at a ceremony at the Willard Intercontinental in Washington, D.C.