Graduate Program Director, Health Informatics & Bioinformatics
Assistant Professor, Department of Information Sciences & Technologies

Email: [email protected]
Phone: (616) 331-7827
Office: DCIH 530N

Education
Ph.D., Informatics, Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis, 2018

Dr. Suhila Sawesi is the Graduate Program Director for Health Informatics and Bioinformatics and an Assistant Professor for the College of Computing. She combines a passion for teaching with cutting-edge research at the intersection of health informatics, machine learning, and knowledge representation. Her work addresses AI-driven diagnostics including applications in breast cancer, thymoma, malaria, and leptospirosis, alongside research in medication adherence modeling, semantic interoperability, health disparities, and the integration of virtual reality in health education.

Dr. Sawesi is an active member of the American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA), where she serves as Member-at-Large for the Pharmacoinformatics Working Group. She has received multiple honors for her contributions, including GVSU’s 2024 Outstanding Mentorship Award and the AMIA Best Reviewer Award. As an educator, she champions inclusive, project-based learning that prepares students for interdisciplinary collaboration in real-world healthcare settings. Her teaching spans clinical decision support, health information systems, and the application of big data in public health, all while empowering students to contribute meaningfully to global health equity and innovation.

• Khan, M. F., Rashrash, M., Khan, F., Sawesi, S., & Kader, A. (2024). "The Status of Students, Faculty, and Leadership Diversities in US Pharmacy Schools/Colleges." American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, 88(2), 100654.
• Rashrash, M., Khan, M. O. F., & Sawesi, S. (2024). "Impact of Curricular and Institutional Factors on Pharm.D. Students' NAPLEX Success: A Comprehensive Analysis of US Pharmacy Programmes." Pharmacy Education, 24(1), 22-28.
• Sawesi, S., Rashrash, M., & Tusch, G. (2024). "Journal Club Engagement and Its Impact on Capstone Performance: A Study in a Health and Bioinformatics Master's Program." Proceedings of the AMIA 2024 Annual Symposium, San Francisco, CA, November 9-13.
• Sawesi, S., Rashrash, M., & Tusch, G. (2024). "Challenges of International Informatics Masters Students in the Post-Covid Era." Proceedings of the AMIA 2024 Annual Symposium, San Francisco, CA, November 9-13.
• Sawesi, S., & Tusch, G. (2023). "From Diversity to Inclusion: Understanding Learning Styles and Adjustment Challenges of International Students - A Literature Review." In Proceedings of the 15th International Conference on Education and New Learning Technologies (EDULEARN23 Proceedings), 3776-3783.
• Sawesi, S., & Tusch, G. (2023). "A Comparative Analysis of International and US Graduate Students: Pre, During, and Post Covid-19." In Proceedings of the 15th International Conference on Education and New Learning Technologies (EDULEARN23 Proceedings), 3784-3790.
• Rashrash, M., Schliesser, S., Shatnawi, A., Sawesi, S., & Al-Share, Q. (2023). "Adverse Drug Reactions (ADRs) Case Studies: Moderate ADRs." In Clinical Case Studies on Medication Safety. Elsevier. https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=F8pKKDQAAAAJ

• Arya Jadhav (Summer 2024):
  Project: "Machine Learning and Deep Learning Techniques for Detection and Prediction of Leptospirosis: A Systematic Literature Review"
  Role: Mentor and Collaborator
  Program: College of Computing, Data Science and Analytics Program, GVSU, Grand Rapids, MI, USA.
• Priyanka Maddela (Summer 2024):
  Project: "Exploring Preferences for Telehealth: Analyzing 2021 National Survey Data on Home-Based Healthcare Services"
  Role: Mentor
  Program: College of Computing, Data Science and Analytics Program, GVSU, Grand Rapids, MI, USA.
• Susrutha Shettygari (Summer 2024):
  Project: "Comparing Preferences for Drive-Through Medication Pickup vs. In-Person Pharmacy Visits: Insights from 2021 National Survey Data"
  Role: Mentor
  Program: College of Computing, Data Science and Analytics Program, GVSU, Grand Rapids, MI, USA.
• Subrahmanya Charitha Kodumagulla (Winter 2024):
  Project: "Integrating Data and Unraveling The Tumor Microenvironment: Advancing Personalized Medicine Strategies in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer"
  Role: Mentor
  Program: College of Computing, Health and Bioinformatics Master Program, GVSU, Grand Rapids, MI, USA.
  Recognition: Received Certificate of Recognition
• Venkata Jagadish Mandava (Winter 2024):
  Project: "Digital Health Literacy: Analyzing Patient Characteristics and Their Influence on Utilizing Online Platforms for Medication Information"
  Role: Mentor
  Program: College of Computing, Health and Bioinformatics Master Program, GVSU, Grand Rapids, MI, USA.
  Recognition: Received Certificate of Recognition
• Marwah Talbeh (Winter 2024):
  Project: "Identifying and Visualizing Risk Factors of Breast Cancer Data"
  Role: Mentor
  Program: College of Computing, Health and Bioinformatics Master Program, GVSU, Grand Rapids, MI, USA.
  Recognition: Received Certificate of Recognition
• Sundeep Gantyada (Winter 2024):
  Project: "Revolutionizing Patient Access with Secure Single Sign-On: Leveraging C# and SQLite for Enhanced Password Management"
  Role: Mentor
  Program: College of Computing, Applied Computing Master Program, GVSU, Grand Rapids, MI, USA.
  Recognition: Received Certificate of Recognition
• Bushra Rashrash (Winter 2024):
  Project: "Examining the Association of Herbal Supplement Usage with Cancer Incidence"
  Role: Internship Mentor
  Program: Biology Department, Undergraduate, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, GVSU, Allendale, MI, USA.