Starting my journey

I joined the Health Data Research UK (HDR UK) Black Internship Programme because it offers more than a traditional placement. The programme provided an eight-week paid internship, networking opportunities, weekly training sessions, and the chance to work on a real-world health-data project. Its purpose is to tackle the under-representation of Black people in health-data science and to give participants the experience they need to progress their careers. 

The programme’s comprehensive approach immediately appealed to me. Beyond the technical work, it promised a supportive environment where I could develop both my skills and professional network—elements that are crucial for anyone entering this specialised field. 

What was my internship like?

For my internship project, I worked closely with a software engineer and a clinician on a curated dataset of Lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM) cases at the Digital Research Service. The goal was to test the viability of using machine learning algorithms to predict LAM. 

I brought valuable expertise from my pharmacoepidemiology background, strong programming and statistical skills, and knowledge of rare diseases. Previously, I had been developing mathematical models for familial hypercholesterolemia management as part of my PhD studies, which gave me a solid foundation for this work. 

Overall, the internship provided me with first-hand experience of developing algorithms for rare diseases outside of a typical research environment. This practical exposure proved invaluable in understanding how health-data science operates in real-world settings, where collaboration across disciplines and rapid iteration are essential. 

The impact on my career

The internship’s impact on my career was immediate and profound. I quickly applied the knowledge and skills I gained in a post-doc position, where I used the acquired programming knowledge to advance epidemiological work in rare autoimmune rheumatic diseases. I published a paper on Kawasaki disease, and abstracts in ANCA-associated vasculitis, Takayasu arteritis, Idiopathic Inflammatory Myopathies and Associated Interstitial Lung Disease. 

Each week during the internship, we had a speaker who described their career journey and shared their experiences. This exposure revealed the varied avenues available to technical health data scientists—from academia to industry, from pure research to clinical applications. 

These insights gave me the confidence to pursue my interest in combining data science with patient follow-up and triage activities outside of the academic research environment. I recognised that this skillset would prove useful for clinical trial recruitment, faster rare disease patient identification and testing, and improvement of efficiencies within the NHS through innovation with Artificial Intelligence. 

What it’s been like to host interns

This year I was fortunate to host two interns from the Black Internship Programme at my current workplace, Sanofi. By embedding them within real projects, we ensured that their work had tangible impact: 

  • Mapping patient pathways: One intern analysed a survey, working closely with NHS clinicians to understand the patient journey for rare diseases, identifying gaps and potential misdiagnosis. The insights laid the groundwork for a research collaboration with the NHS.
  • Visualising complex processes: The second intern built an interactive dashboard that helps colleagues navigate a complex risk-minimisation process, signposting them to the correct tools and documentation.

Colleagues appreciated that the interns brought a data-driven approach to problem solving. Providing evidence from survey analysis helped to communicate with clinicians and encouraged them to participate in projects. Colleagues commented that in situations where we would have used simple PowerPoint slides, we now had a dashboard. It was clear that there was a new perspective and skill set in play. 

My tips for success

Based on my experience as both an intern and a host, here are my recommendations to host organisations for making the internship a success: 

  • Identify potential data projects in advance (e.g., Power BI tasks, data analysis, meta-analysis) that an intern can support.
  • Identify the skills required for these tasks and communicate them to the HDR UK team; this will ensure that interns are aligned to specific project needs.
  • During the interview stage, ask the interviewees to present a self-directed project if a technical assessment is not possible.
  • Discuss the potential project with interns in the interview to gauge alignment.
  • Align with the intern on the project and communicate clear and achievable deliverables within the internship window.

Looking ahead

My experience as both an intern and a host underscores the power of structured, inclusive internships. On a personal level, the programme opened doors to a fulfilling career in health informatics. On an organisational level, hosting interns has brought new ideas, expanded our projects, and helped us develop our future data talent pipelines—especially important in a world moving increasingly toward AI. 

I would encourage any organisation involved in health data work to consider hosting interns and any aspiring data scientist to apply. The programme represents a meaningful step toward building a more diverse and capable health-data science workforce, one that better reflects the communities we serve and brings fresh perspectives to the challenges we face. 

Interested in applying to our Black Internship Programme next year? Applications are open until 4 January 2026. Find out more and submit your application now. Or are you an organisation looking to tackle underrepresentation within health data science? Find out more about the programme and pledge to host an intern now.