Tell us a bit about your background
Before beginning my PhD, I completed my MMath at the University of Edinburgh, I focused mainly on applied mathematics and statistics; my master’s dissertation focused on how we could generate science-informed synthetic data to give us more data for modelling real-world processes.
Outside of my studies, I also worked part-time in agri-tech in vertical farming. My role focused on building convolutional neural networks to perform automated plant monitoring, as well as performing data analysis and developing crop-testing methodologies. This was a summer internship that became a part time job, and I loved the opportunity to apply the skills I learned in my degree in real-world problems.
How did you become interested in health data science?
Although I love my time working in agri-tech, I realised that I found people more interesting than plants. This brought me to health data science, as it allows me to use the skillset I developed to understand and improve the health of our population and global health as a whole.
I also spent time researching semi-supervised learning in Oxford’s Department of Statistics. This got me interested in how advancements in AI could address healthcare inequalities worldwide and help inform policies to improve our healthcare system.
What attracted you to the HDR UK programme?
As a student coming from a mathematics background, I was particularly interested in programmes that would give me the time and support to develop my general understanding and knowledge of health before I dived straight into a PhD project. The flexibility of the HDR UK programme, allows me to develop that knowledge in that exact ways I feel will be the most useful to my future research.
Furthermore, throughout the interview process, I was incredibly impressed by the involvement of current PhD students who feel like true stakeholders in the programme and were confident, informed and engaging. This combined with the support from the whole HDR UK team made me very keen to join this incredible community of researchers.
What are you looking forward to about the PhD?
Firstly, I’m excited to be learning from and collaborating with as many people and organisations as possible. Although, I’m keen to produce high quality impactful research throughout my PhD, I want to make sure I make the process to as learn as much as I can along the way.
Most importantly, I’m hoping to use my research to have tangible impacts on organisations doing vital work to improve global health.
Do you have plans for the future?
I’m hoping to continue using the research network and skills I developed in my PhD to continue working on high-impact problems in health data science.
