Vanderbilt University informatics executive Peter Embí, M.D., M.S., has been named director of NIH’s National Library of Medicine (NLM). 

Embí brings nearly three decades of clinical, research, academic, and executive leadership experience to the position. He currently serves as a tenured professor of biomedical informatics and internal medicine and the endowed director of biomedical informatics at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, where he has also served as chair of the Department of Biomedical Informatics, senior vice president for research and innovation, and, most recently, founding director of the ADVANCE AI Center. He is anticipated to begin his role on Sept. 10, 2026.

Healthcare Innovation recently covered a presentation Embí gave about the development of an open source platform for the monitoring of computable algorithms. He and colleagues are creating a collaborative of health systems to use and fine-tune it. 


“Dr. Embí is a pioneer at the intersection of biomedical informatics, research, and clinical care, with a proven track record of turning data into better health outcomes,” said NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya, M.D., Ph.D., in a statement. “As NLM enters an era defined by AI and data-driven discovery, his leadership will be essential to ensuring the library continues to serve as a trusted, cutting-edge resource for researchers, clinicians, and the public.”

As the NLM’s fifth director, Embí will oversee the world’s largest biomedical library and shepherd the investment of its approximately $495 million annual budget. He will lead a workforce of nearly 1,400 who support NLM as a global leader in biomedical informatics and computational health data science research. 

NLM has a multifaceted role as an information hub, learning center, and innovation incubator and plays a central role in advancing science through the effective use of data and analytics for discovery and healthcare. NLM conducts and funds research, development, and training in biomedical informatics and health information technology, hosts the world’s largest and most heavily accessed genomic data repositories, and coordinates the Network of the National Library of Medicine, which actively engages with more than 2,000 member organizations to provide training opportunities, resources, and health information in communities across the United States.

Embí previously served as president and CEO of the Regenstrief Institute, vice president for learning health systems at IU Health, and professor and associate dean at Indiana University School of Medicine in Indianapolis. Earlier, at The Ohio State University, he served as professor and vice-chair of biomedical informatics and as the nation’s first chief research information officer.

Throughout his career, Embí has advanced the use of health data, evidence, and emerging technologies to improve care, accelerate research, championed the safe and effective adoption of artificial intelligence in medicine, and trained generations of physicians and scientists in biomedical informatics. He is credited as a founder of the field of clinical research informatics and originated the concept of algorithmovigilance, the systematic evaluation and monitoring of AI in healthcare.