Mary Regina Boland, PhD

Education

PhD, Biomedical Informatics, Columbia University
MPhil, Biomedical Informatics, Columbia University
MA, Biomedical Informatics, Columbia University
BS, Bioinformatics, Saint Vincent College

Courses

Introduction to Data Science and Analytics
Methods of Data Science and Analytics
Data Mining
Deep Learning and Other Advanced Methods of Data Science
Data Science and Analytics Capstone
Health Analytics
Data Mining with Sports
Database Concepts and Information Structures
Application of Data Analytics, Informatics and Healthcare Technology

Research Interests

Dr. Boland is a nationally recognized leader in the field of clinical research informatics, specifically using phenotypes from electronic health records (EHR) linked to external resources to include information on environmental exposures. Dr. Boland researches the role that environmental exposures play in human development and disease. Dr. Boland is passionate for her research on how where we live, work and play can impact development of a variety of diseases. Dr. Boland has authored over 90 peer-reviewed publications in top-tiered journals including New England Journal of Medicine (letter), JAMA Network Open, Nature Biotechnology, Briefings in Bioinformatics, and the Journal of American Medical Informatics Association, Journal of American Statistical Association among others. Dr. Boland is also a Fellow in the American Medical Informatics Association (FAMIA).

Dr. Boland recently (2025) published a textbook called Health Analytics with R (published by Springer Nature) that has sold over 5000 copies and is used in several of her courses taught at Saint Vincent College. Dr. Boland is also the Principal Investigator on two National Science Foundation grants at Saint Vincent College. The first (award period 2024-2027) is with Fr. Michael Antonacci and Dr. Stephen Jodis and is titled: "Strengthening Collaborative Advancements Leveraging Equitable University Partnerships" and the second grant (award period 2025-2029) where Dr. Boland is the sole Saint Vincent College Principal Investigator is titled "Personal Determinants of Health Enhanced Machine Learning Models for Early Prediction of Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias".

Dr. Boland enjoys working with undergraduate students and including them in research opportunities whenever possible while strengthening industry partnerships for those students seeking careers after completing their degrees. Dr. Boland is also one of the founder of the Saint Giles scholarship for existing Saint Vincent College Data Science majors, which was set up by a former student of Dr. Boland's along with herself to strengthen possibilities for Saint Vincent College students interested in Data Science.

More Information about NSF EPIIC available here. 

More Information about Dr. Boland's NSF grant on Alzheimer's Disease available here. 

Awards

Editor of Distinction Award 2025, Springer Nature, for Editorial Work on BioData Mining

Named one of the 40 women for 40 years as an exemplary alumna, Saint Vincent College, Latrobe, PA, USA

Top Informatics Presentation, University of Pennsylvania, Department of Biostatistics Epidemiology & Informatics Research Day, April 27, 2022 (senior author)

Fellow of the American Medical Informatics Association (FAMIA)

More available on website.

Selected Publications

Please see Google Scholar profile.

Website Link

https://www.maryreginaboland.com/