Building the data science community
A new co-ordinator for our alumni community
As an emerging field, health data science needs places and opportunities for people to meet, network, collaborate and get up-to-date information on jobs and other opportunities. That’s what the HDR UK Alumni Community aims to achieve.
James Godwin, a PhD student at the University of York and a graduate from an HDR UK-funded master’s degree at Exeter, has just taken on the role of co-ordinating the network. Right now the activity is largely on LinkedIn and it’s primarily a place to find out about jobs but in the months ahead he hopes to see it take off in new directions.
He said: “Health data science and HDR UK are relatively new in the science world and I think it would be great if current students, alumni and professionals had a place to come together and build networks – create the sort of community that other areas of science have.
“Connecting all the people who’ve been involved in HDR UK for the past few years would provide a great opportunity for everyone.”
A key feature could be its diversity, bringing together people from the Black Internships Programme, from apprenticeships and from HDR UK’s master’s degrees, PhDs and fellowships.
Celebrating women in health data science
This month we are celebrating some of the remarkable?women in health data science?all across the UK. Not only are they achieving a huge amount for health and care, they are also paving the way for other women – and the creation of a fully diverse and inclusive workforce.
We have spoken to five women about their careers, what drew them to the field, the obstacles they have faced and the positive encouragement and support they have received. And we also asked what they believe could be done to ensure that other women can flourish in health data science. Meet:
· Marta Blangiardo, who became “completely mesmerised by Bayesian statistics” and is now Professor of Biostatistics, Imperial College London.?
· Jaine Blayney, Lecturer, Translational Bioinformatics at QUB, who was originally set for a career in software development before developing an interest in protein structure prediction.?
· Watjana Lilaonitkul, UKRI Rutherford Fellow, University College London, who wants to build and deploy innovations that can positively impact real-world healthcare outcomes.??
· Rowena Bailey, Senior Research Officer, HDR UK Swansea University, who identifies social and environmental determinants of ill health to inform decision makers.??
· Fatemeh Torabi, Research Officer & Data Scientist, HDR UK Wales and Northern Ireland, at the University of Swansea, who uses large scale linked health data for advancement of risk prediction methods.?
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What’s new on HDR UK Futures??
Our free web-based HDR UK Futures learning platform is growing fast, with a superb library of bite-sized videos to help you upgrade your health data science skills and knowledge. New on Futures right now is:
· Approaches to carrying out patient and public involvement (PPE)?- Judy Slape??
· Judging publications and outputs: Introducing HDR UK’s 6 pillars of research?-?Elliot McClenaghan?
· Privacy Enhancing Technologies: A focus on differential privacy?– Gerry Reilly?
Other Videos Coming Soon??
How to incorporate information from mobiles and wearables in phenotypes – Nick Cummins.
· Find out more about HDR UK Futures and register via?our website.
· Have an idea for a bitesize video? Contact us at?[email protected].
HDR UK-Turing Wellcome PhD programme
Recruitment will soon be starting for the 2023-24 intake of students for this highly prestigious and generously funded four-year programme. Designed to train the health data science leaders of the future it offers unparalleled opportunities to carry out valuable research and build networks across academia, the NHS and industry. Find out more about the programme?here?and sign up to register your interest?here.?