Learn vital skills for independent research

This series of free events will allow early career researchers to gain insights into what fuels successful health data research collaborations.

Understanding these issues is just as vital in the transition to becoming a successful independent researcher as expanding their technical skills and gaining experience in research methodologies

The UK needs a research workforce with a full range of skills and expertise in order to achieve the rapid progress we all want to see in health data research.

The Elevate series also provides a community space where ECRs can meet and collaborate.

Global connections

Who the series is for

  • Master's and PhD students
  • Postdoc researchers
  • HDR UK fellows
  • New entrants from other fields
  • Recently independent researchers

 

The Elevate seminar series is co-led by Fatemeh Torabi and Elliot McClenaghan.

Fatemeh is assistant professor in healthcare data science at Cambridge University and a senior data scientist at DPUK Swansea University.

Elliot is a research fellow in epidemiology at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM).

Each Elevate event is presented by speakers from leading universities and other organisations, with extensive experience in the world of health data research. It’s free to take part, just register for your place.

Elevate Events

Seminar Series

  • Navigating Academic Systems Across Countries and Career Stages

    This seminar explores Dr Safoora Gharibzadeh’s compelling career journey – one shaped by international transition, resilience, and strategic reinvention.

    Safoora is a medical statistician at the University of Leicester’s Real World Evidence Unit. Upon completing her PhD in biostatistics at Tehran University of Medical Sciences in 2016, she worked as an assistant professor in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the Pasteur Institute of Iran where her research focused on categorical and longitudinal data analysis. She is interested in modelling high-dimensional real-world data, such as CPRD, using causal inference and machine learning methods.

    Safoora shares how she responded to these challenges and is actively building the experience, leadership, and research profile needed for progression, including pursuing an NIHR award and taking on Co-PI roles to strengthen her independence and impact. Her story speaks to the realities many researchers face: non linear careers, structural barriers, rejection, and the additional complexity of working across international systems.

    • Registration and further information here.

  • This special edition of the Elevate ECR Seminar Series looks at AI and Health: From Foundational Approaches to Frontier Science.

    The one-hour lunchtime event will feature a cross-generational conversation on applying AI in deep science.

    Professor Dave Robertson (University of Edinburgh), one of HDR UK’s AI Advisors, will offer brief insights from his career advancing AI research and its integration into complex scientific domains.

    Bringing a complementary early-career perspective, Valentina Giunchiglia, a PhD student, jointly based at Imperial College London and Harvard University, will discuss her work developing multimodal foundation models for biomedical research.

  • Are you ready to move your health data research beyond the academic paper and influence real-world policy?

    Join us for an inspiring session with Naomi Launders (fellow at Big Data for Complex Disease Driver Programme), who has successfully navigated the intersection of research, public health, and government.

    Naomi will share her personal career trajectory, offering an honest look at the transition from public sector collaborator to researcher. Learn practical, actionable tips for engaging effectively with government bodies and public health agencies, sharing your research in a way that drives policy, and making a tangible impact on population health. As always we’ll have plenty of time to explore the subject with a Q&A at the end of the session.

  • This session is a chance to hear from Professor Mark Lawler, a world leader in health data research, about why data matters to everyone.

    About the event

    This free online event continues our series to support and inspire early career researchers in health data science. It’s a superb chance to gain vital insights into what makes a thriving research career, from a leader in health data research.

    After the discussion there will be a Q&A session where participants can ask questions, seek advice, and engage in an open dialogue about their career path and the challenges and opportunities in health data research.

    About Mark

    Mark is Professor of Digital Health at Queen’s University Belfast. He chairs the International Cancer Benchmarking Partnership, a global initiative which looks at cancer outcomes across the world and was senior author on a Lancet Oncology paper that highlighted the role of National Cancer Control Plans in delivering optimal cancer care.

    H co-leads HDR UK’s Big Data for Complex Diseases Driver Programme which has a major focus on the use of cancer data and comorbidities. He is Scientific Director of DATA-CAN, the UK’s Health Data Research Hub for Cancer. He is the Scientific Lead of the European Cancer Organisation’s European Cancer Pulse.

    Mark’s pioneering work on Covid-19 and cancer received the Royal College of Physicians Excellence in Patient Care Award. His team won the HDR UK Impact of the Year Award for providing the crucial intelligence informing a change in policy for treating colorectal cancer.

    And that’s just for starters …

    • Date: Wednesday, 22 October, 2025
    • Time: 12:00-13:00
    • Location: Online
    • Host: Fatemeh Torabi

    Register here.

  • From Evidence to Action

    This session will focus on women in health data.

    The speakers

    The speakers will be  HDR UK Fellow Ethna McFerran, who talks about her fascinating journey from clinician to researcher, and Amy Mizen of HDR UK Wales, who discusses her research into the impact of green space on health, as well as her own career path and how she balances life in academia and beyond.

    About Ethna

    Dr Ethna McFerran is a cancer health economist at Queen’s University Belfast, specialising in oncology health economics, health systems, and policy. She has a background in cancer nursing and a PhD in cancer health economics, she has over twenty years’ experience in cancer care, clinical trials and research applying economic modelling. She has recently secured a significant grant to lead a groundbreaking project (LUNG SHOT) aimed at establishing lung cancer screening programmes across the island of Ireland. She is a leader in cross-sector collaboration and a passionate advocate for equitable healthcare, with significant contributions to cancer care policy, cost-effectiveness analysis, and digital healthinfrastructure.

    About Amy

    Dr Amy Mizen is a postdoctoral researcher at Health Data Research UK (HDR-UK) Wales & Northern Ireland. Her research interests include the role of the built-environment on physical and mental health outcomes.

    Amy’s current role is focussed on generating household-level environmental measures of access to the outdoor environment for an NIHR funded project. The aim of the project is to investigate whether a change in access to the natural environment, has an impact on people’s mental health. This change may be for example because a new park may open or a new housing estate may be built.

    Amy has a PhD in Public Health, which investigated the impact of daily access to unhealthy food outlets on BMI in adolescents. Her PhD linked individual-level, daily exposure to unhealthy food, derived from administrative food outlet data, with anonymised health data stored in the SAIL data bank at Swansea University.

    Register here.

  • John Tazare on Open Science and Code Sharing

    This week we speak to John Tazare of LSHTM a committed advocate for equitable, transparent, and impactful science.

    Why you should join

    • Get an insider’s perspective on making open code, open methods, and open data the norm not the exception.
    • Discover inclusive practices that empower not just researchers, but also patients, policymakers, and the public.
    • Connect with a vibrant community of fellow early‑career researchers in health data science.

    Who’s speaking
    John will share lessons from his experience in promoting transparent workflows and citizen engagement, drawing from real-world examples of Open Science in action.

    What’s in it for you
    • Practical strategies to implement open science in your projects
    • Ideas for navigating challenges like privacy, consent, and reproducibility
    • A chance to ask John your burning questions during the live Q&A
    • A friendly networking space with peers and mentors

  • In Conversation with Sir Aziz Sheikh

    For the third in our Elevate series of events for early career researchers (ECRs) we’re delighted to welcome Sir Professor Aziz Sheikh.

    This informal online discussion will focus will be on career insights, impactful research, and collaboration. There will be a Q&A at the end.

    It is a superb chance to hear from one of the leading figures in the field. Sir Aziz is Nuffield Professor of Primary Care Health Sciences and Head of Department, Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, at the University of Oxford.

    • Date: Wednesday, 18 June, 2025
    • Time: 12:30-13:30
    • Location: Online
    • Host: Fatemeh Torabi

  • From Collaboration to Leadership

    A conversation and Q&A with Dr Stefan Schoenfelder of the Babraham Institute and Enhanc3D Genomics about his journey through academia and industry. A superb chance to learn insights for developing your own career.

    • Date: Wednesday, 21 May, 2025
    • Time: 12:30-13:30
    • Location: Online
    • Hosts: Fatemeh Torabi, Elliot McClenaghan

    Stefan, of the Babraham Institute, Cambridge, will discuss:

    • Career background and science journey
    • Transition to independence: raising your own  profile
    • How a CEO strikes a balance: 50-50 split in academia and industry
    • Mobility in research
    • Mentors in your journey.

    Recording and Hack MD document will be available soon.

  • Research Dissemination: From Submission to Acceptance

    This event is now over – but you can find out more on Github here and HackMD here.

    • Date: Wednesday, 26 March, 2025
    • Time: 12:30-13:30
    • Location: Online
    • Speakers: Fatemeh Torabi, Elliot McClenaghan

    Join us for an insightful session delving into the intricate details of research dissemination, navigating authorship agreements and the submission process in academic research.

    You will learn:

    • Key consideration for dissemination of your research
    • Best practices for authorship agreements
    • Tips for navigating your way through submission process

    Don’t miss out on this opportunity to gain valuable insights and network with fellow researchers. This will be an interactive session so please be advised to keep your camera on and come prepared to share your thoughts.

The Journey So Far

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.

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.

  • Find out more about the inaugural event here.

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