In September, HDR UK hosted the inaugural ECR Forum which welcomed a group of multidisciplinary and emerging researchers and technologists – working or studying in health data science – into one space. The forum gave us an opportunity to meet, collaborate and discuss challenges and opportunities unique to early-stage researchers. It also allowed us to learn from one another and a diverse range of speakers and workshop leaders.

Showcasing research

The forum provided an opportunity to showcase some of the world-leading research being carried out by ECRs in the HDR UK community, as well as career development perspectives from senior and early-stage professionals alike.

On the research front, we heard from HDR UK’s cohort of Wellcome-Turing Doctoral Programme students which ranged from using generative artificial intelligence models in wrangling high-dimensional health data, to harnessing electronic health record data to diagnose patients in the primary care setting.

We also got an exclusive sneak peek into the early plans of a fresh cohort of HDR UK Programme Fellows, where we saw a diverse range of topics including health inequalities, medication effectiveness, bioinformatics, cardiovascular disease, mental health and statistical methodology. All of these projects emphasised the need for secure Trusted Research Environments (TREs) for accessing large health datasets, that are made possible by HDR UK research collaborations. There was also an opportunity for delegates to engage with poster presentations from other ECRs and to discuss the cutting-edge research presented with the lead researchers themselves.

A highlight of the day was the HDR UK Early Career Technology showcase, where technologists who strive to support data infrastructure and make health data research in the HDR UK community possible presented their work. We heard about implementing natural language processing algorithms to improve the health metadata on the Health Data Research Gateway, principled approaches to standardise data for common data models leading to wider collaboration and reproducibility, and code list comparison tools to aid in world-leading phenotyping of patient characteristics and diseases in health research.

Career development

For ECRs, figuring out career trajectories and receiving guidance on the challenges and opportunities in health data science careers is important. To meet this need, the ECR Forum not only provided an opportunity for delegates to network with one another but also featured special presentations oriented around career development.

Our opening address was delivered by leading Respiratory Epidemiologist, Professor Jennifer Quint. Jenni told us about her personal career journey and imparted some invaluable wisdom and anecdotes on how to focus your research identity, surround yourself with supportive people, not give up, and navigate work-life balance.

Sticking to the career development theme, we hosted a “Where are they now?” session, including a panel discussion with HDR UK’s Fellows and Alumni who spoke on diverse career trajectories, harnessing opportunities, and the crucial importance of mentorship. There was also the chance for delegates to snap some complementary professional headshots throughout the day.

We rounded off the day with a keynote address from leading industry health data scientist, Marta Milo. Marta brought the room together with her stories about integrity, making your voice heard and making use of your network. She challenged us to ask “so what?” and interrogate the impact of our work as researchers, connecting your science to impact at all times. We also heard a tale of personal courage by way of an unlikely friendship between a health data scientist and a caged lioness (yes, really).

Workshops

The diverse and multidisciplinary spirit of the HDR UK community was represented by a selection of interactive workshops that delegates could choose from, and included skills development in artificial intelligence, how to build successful funding applications, dataset curation in TREs, and communicating health data research. These sessions aimed to enable peers to achieve better performance in their roles and to learn from best practices implemented by the health data science workshop lead.

One of the workshop leads, Dr. Venexia Walker, shared her thoughts with us on the experience of the day:

“The event significantly contributed to my professional development by providing an opportunity to meet colleagues with whom I typically work remotely, fostering stronger connections and facilitating more effective collaboration. Additionally, it allowed me to expand my professional network by connecting with new individuals who share similar interests.”

She extended her note on the most valuable aspect of the event by saying:

“The most valuable aspect of the event for me was delivering a workshop, which enabled me to formalize my approach to preparing analysis-ready datasets and refine my thinking of the key components that apply across studies. I also greatly valued the opportunity to engage with the workshop participants, as their feedback provided valuable insights that further enriched my thinking.”

To our question about whether she would recommend this type of events to peer ECRs, she responded:

“I would highly recommend this event to early career researchers in my field, as it provided a friendly and welcoming atmosphere that encouraged learning and collaboration. The event was engaging, featuring excellent keynote speakers and interactive elements such as the shared HackMD notes and Mentimeter quizzes, which fostered active participation and enriched the overall experience.”

Building community

Forum delegates also had the opportunity to connect with industry partners and sponsors of the event including Genomics England, AstraZeneca, GlaxoSmithKline, HDR UK’s Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement (PPIE) team and the HDR UK alumni network.

About the event, Forum delegate and HDR UK Impact Committee member, Patrick Bidulka, said the following:

“The event was a great networking opportunity. I was able to meet in person data managers from the BHF Data Science Centre who I have been working with for months as part of my research. I was also able to re-connect with the central leaders of the HDR-UK Black Internship Programme, who I work with to run the internship at the LSHTM.

 

“I would strongly recommend the HDR-UK ECR event to other early career researchers. It is an excellent event to meet and learn from other health data researchers based across the UK, who are engaged in a variety of health data research topics and methodologies. The ECR event is also great to learn about all the opportunities HDR-UK facilitates for UK health data scientists, and how to get involved.”

We hope that this fantastic day will catalyse the growth of a community of ECRs working in health data across the UK, connected by but not necessarily affiliated with HDR UK. As part of this community, you can expect future events, seminars, career and funding opportunities, and an opportunity to grow your network and connect with other ECRs.

Learn more about how HDR UK is supporting early careers and explore opportunities to get involved