British Heart Foundation Data Science Centre appoints Prof Matthew Sydes as new Data-enabled Clinical Trials Thematic Lead
18 June 2021
The British Heart Foundation (BHF) Data Science Centre is pleased to announce the appointment of Prof Matthew Sydes as its new Associate Director and Theme Lead for Data-enabled Clinical Trials.
Prof. Matt Sydes is joining the BHF Data Science Centre, led by Health Data Research UK (HDR UK), on a part-time secondment basis to provide strategic leadership in key areas of work using large-scale, automated and streamlined approaches to deliver efficient, cost-effective cardiovascular clinical trials. Matt will work with the clinical trial, cardiovascular and data science communities to shape the use of linked routinely-collected population-wide health data for planning of, recruitment to and follow-up in cardiovascular clinical trials. This will drive benefits for patients with – or at risk of – heart and circulatory conditions, demonstrating impact at national and international level.
Matt is Professor of Clinical Trials and Methodology at the MRC Clinical Trials Unit at UCL, part of UCL’s Institute of Clinical Trials and Methodology. He brings a breadth of expertise in clinical trial design, conduct and methodology, including working with Health Data Research UK on the use of routinely-collected electronic health records to support the running of clinical trials. Clinical trials are the key way in which health interventions are assessed so that doctors and patients can make better informed, evidence-based decisions. There are particular challenges for clinical trials compared to other forms of research, arising from their prospective nature and regulatory requirements, such as around the provenance of routine data, and onward sharing of data for data re-use projects. Matt will connect into complementary work at the MRC Clinical Trials Unit at UCL, the national Clinical Trials theme led by Health Data Research UK, and the MRC – NIHR Trials Methodology Research Partnership, whose Health Informatics Working Group he chairs.
Prof Matthew Sydes said:
“I’m delighted to be working with the team at the BHF Data Science Centre to lead this important research theme. We will work to streamline clinical trials so we can improve healthcare for patients. I am looking forward to helping the cardiovascular community continue to be at the forefront of work to widely improve the evidence-base and define standards for future research.”
Prof Cathie Sudlow, Director of the BHF Data Science Centre said:
“The BHF Data Science Centre team is looking forward to working closely with Matt to shape our work to support data-enabled cardiovascular trials. Matt’s appointment will help the centre to achieve its overall vision – to improve the public’s cardiovascular health through the power of large-scale data and analytics across the UK.”
Cardiovascular data-enabled trials is one of the BHF Data Science Centre’s six key thematic areas. This theme will focus on the development of methods, tools and platforms to enable efficient, cost-effective, large-scale randomised trials that will provide reliable evidence to improve the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular diseases. It will champion the use of UK population-scale routine health data – where appropriate combined with appropriate other novel, scalable approaches (such as web- or app-based platforms) – for planning trials, and for the streamlined recruitment and follow-up of patients with or at risk of developing cardiovascular conditions.