Steven Hinrichs

Dr. Hinrichs is the Stokes-Shackelford Professor and Chair of the Department of Pathology and Microbiology at UNMC.  He is Board certified in Anatomic and Clinical Pathology with a special interest in microbiology and emerging infectious diseases.   Dr. Hinrichs received his MD from the University of North Dakota and completed his residency training at UC Davis, followed by research training at the NIH in molecular virology and pathology.  In 1997, Dr. Hinrichs facilitated the establishment of the Nebraska Public Health Laboratory at UNMC and became its founding director.  Under his direction, the NPHL became one of the first public health laboratories in the country to develop internet-based test ordering and reporting capabilities for real-time identification of emerging epidemics.  He was responsible for coordinating responsibilities related to the CDC and associated Laboratory Response activities and public health preparedness including biological and chemical terrorism response activities.  Through involvement with the Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).  Dr. Hinrichs became the national co-lead of the Public Health Laboratory Interoperability Project (PHLIP) focused on improving uniformity and utility of laboratory test messages. Dr. Hinrichs drafted the system architecture, routing and software components used in creating the nationwide network.  He also co-authored with APHL and CDC, the descriptive terminology including HL7; LOINC and SNOMED for the FDA approved diagnostic Influenza virus device package insert.  He recently served on the HHS Clinical Laboratory Improvement Advisory Committee.