Dr Ralph Kwame Akyea is a Senior Research Fellow within the Centre for Academic Primary Care, School of Medicine, University of Nottingham.
Ralph obtained his medical degree from the University of Ghana Medical School, master’s degree in public health (MPH) and doctorate (PhD) in Primary Care from the University of Nottingham.
Ralph’s research involves the use of health databases. He applies novel epidemiological, statistical, and data science methods to understand disease heterogeneity and identify unique patient groups at greater risk of adverse clinical outcomes.
The proposed research focuses on improving the identification of individuals with familial hypercholesterolaemia (FH). Familial Hypercholesterolaemia (FH) is a common inherited cause of raised cholesterol since birth, affecting about 320,000 people in the UK. Unfortunately, over 80% of individuals with FH remain undiagnosed and untreated, leading to an estimated 140,000 avoidable heart attacks and premature deaths in the UK alone. However, the timely identification and use of cholesterol-lowering medication can significantly reduce the risk of developing heart disease and other serious health complications.
This research pioneers a new interdisciplinary approach to this problem by harnessing routinely collected electronic health records with artificial intelligence (machine learning) methods to develop, validate, and evaluate a trustworthy AI clinical decision support tool for use in primary health care practice.
