Kevin R. Dufendach, MD, MS

In my own life, I find fulfillment when I help others succeed. Through my research, I want to empower clinicians to improve the lives of children. In clinical practice, I focus on neonatology, congenital diaphragmatic hernia and neonatal respiratory physiology.

My research focus includes clinical informatics. More specifically, I work toward improving usability in the science of healthcare delivery. I try to bring modern technologies, such as machine learning and dynamic interfaces, into patient care safely.

As a long-term hobby programmer, I enjoy the puzzle of writing code to coax computers into performing specific tasks. As a resident physician, I organized data for newborn care using simple spreadsheets and Visual Basic scripts. This information not only helped clinicians by presenting the relevant clinical information concisely, but it also generated a streamlined clinical note, including any didactic comments from the clinician. This experience helped me recognize my potential to combine my clinical and informatics expertise to help others succeed.

My current research allows me to automate some tasks, such as information gathering and data mining. Clinicians then interpret this information to provide better clinical care for every patient. I am at my best when I help improve the effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction of healthcare providers.