Our next event organised in partnership with the Leicester Life Sciences Accelerator (LLSA) at the University of Leicester focuses on the sector’s hot topic of 2023 – health data science. The event will be held at Space Park, Leicester and brings together academics, clinicians and industry to explore the breadth of opportunities in this field, as we move increasingly towards digital solutions. Yet the session also unpacks the significant challenges in this area, considering the barriers to gaining access to health data and utilising this data to develop successful digital solutions or service improvements in the real world.
Our first panel will include researchers and decision makers in this area, who will outline the latest academic and clinical health data science contexts. The second panel of presentations will feature talks from companies working in and with health data science, to extend our discussion of its real-world applications and opportunities for industrial and commercial partners.
Programme
09:30 – Delegate arrival, registration & refreshments
09:55 – Introduction to the LLSA from Professor Toru Suzuki, Academic Lead for the LLSA and Chair of Cardiovascular Medicine and Honorary Consultant Cardiologist, University of Leicester (Video)
10:00 – Panel 1 – Professor Tim Coats, Dr Rob Free, Dawn Plummer + Q&A and Panel discussion
11:00 – BREAK – Refreshments and networking
11:30 – Panel 2 – SME Showcase – Methods Analytics (Richard Oakley), iethico (Debra Ainge), Vuit Online (Clare Higgins), CheckUp Health (Fungai Ndemera) + Q&A and Panel discussion
12:30 – Lunch and networking
13:30 – Close
Speaker Profiles
Professor Tim Coats, Professor of Emergency Medicine, University of Leicester
Presentation Title: “NHS Data: What, Where and How”
Tim Coats trained in Emergency Medicine in Leeds and London, developing a particular interest in pre-hospital trauma care, and completing an MD thesis in 1996 on using AI methods to incorporate of patterns of change in physiology in a predictive model of outcome following injury. He trained in prehospital care with the London Helicopter Emergency Medical Service from 1990 to 1996
Following appointed as a Senior Lecturer at Barts and The London in 1996 with consultant responsibility for the London HEMS service, he moved to the University of Leicester as Professor of Emergency Medicine in 2003. He is a past Chair of the College of Emergency Medicine Research Committee, past Chair of the NIHR National Specialist Group for Injuries and Emergencies, and currently Chairs the Trauma Audit and Research Network (TARN). In 2022 he became a NIHR Senior Investigator. His research interests are changes in coagulation following major trauma, artificial intelligence in healthcare ‘big data’ applications, and non-invasive monitoring in the diagnosis of sepsis in emergency care.
Dr Rob Free, Lecturer in Health Data Science at University of Leicester and Director of Informatics at Leicester Biomedical Research Centre
Presentation Title: “Data Science Opportunities in the Leicester BRC”
Rob Free is a Lecturer in Health Data Science at the University of Leicester and the Director of Informatics for the NIHR Leicester Biomedical Research Centre (BRC). His own research focuses on the use of advanced data science (including artificial intelligence and machine learning) to develop and translate models and technologies into data-driven approaches for improving healthcare outcomes. As Director of Informatics, he is overseeing the BRC’s new Health Informatics Platform which endeavours to facilitate and develop exciting multi-disciplinary collaborations and partnerships.
Dawn Plummer, Digital Lead, East Midlands Academic Health Science Network
Presentation Title: “EMAHSN – Who we are, how we support innovators and current digital trends in local NHS”
Dawn Plummer is the Digital Lead at the EMAHSN, working within the Innovation Pipeline Delivery team, seeking to match innovations with known needs in our local networks. Dawn has experience supporting innovators to partner with NHS organisations to trial solutions, with an overall aim to support embedding innovations as ‘business as usual’ whilst collecting evidence and data to support adoption and spread into other local Trusts. The digital team deliver EMAHSN’s Digital Health Accelerator programme, which for 2023 is focussing on workforce innovations as a key focus locally, based on conversations with key stakeholders.
Richard Oakley, Director of Data Science and AI, Methods Analytics
Presentation Title: TBC
Richard is Director of Data Science and AI at Methods Analytics. By background a technical architect with over a decade’s experience in the public and private sector, overseeing all of Methods Analytics’ data science and AI work including that in health & care.
He specialises in healthcare improvement projects that utilise or advance data-orientated decision-making, architecting solutions in a variety of open-source and proprietary technologies. He is an advocate for greater application of data science in health & care, working to promote the use of machine learning, predictive modelling, simulation and population health management techniques in forms that are accessible and sustainable within the NHS.
He has worked with central, regional and local health organisations across primary, secondary and tertiary care across the UK and internationally. His recent project work incorporates the full suite of information science from helping to implement and embed new data science functions within large organisations through to ontology creation, semi-clinical NLP classifiers, risk modelling and capacity & flow simulations.
Dr Debra Ainge, CEO, iethico
Presentation Title: Drug Shortages: A Global Crisis
Debra combines broad international experience in the healthcare industry in R&D, Technology, and the pharmaceutical service sector across UK and internationally, with a record of delivering growth both organically & through M&A. She has led organisations from start-up to +5000 staff and has an extensive industry network built through the development of strong relationships across pharma, biotech & technology. Debra is a certified member of the Institute of Directors, holds several non-executive roles and has a PhD from Newcastle University.
Clare Higgins, Marketing and Sales Manager, VUIT Online
Presentation Title: Actionable Insights – A Rare and Precious Thing
For many years, Clare enjoyed a successful career in the drinks industry, working up from PA to the MD through to Operations Manager, leading a team of 7 staff rising to a maximum of 450 staff over the period. Clare joined VUIT in May 2021 as Marketing and Sales Manager, tasked with commercialising the platform and developing the company structure. To date, VUIT has received considerable interest and recognition within the sector, and continues to open new sales channels.
Fungai Ndemera, Nurse, Multi-entrepreneur, Health Tech Disruptor and Founder, CheckUp Health
Fungai is the tech founder of CheckUp Health, the only health AI-driven NHS approved hybrid multilingual care delivery platform combining remote monitoring in-home offering connectivity points to clinicians and professionals. Empowering the patient to take control with a culturally competent secure app for personal health tracking and monitoring and BAME engagement metrics, helping healthcare organisations, from GP practices to corporate organisations, monitor proactively and effectively support patients from various backgrounds by offering multilingual options. She is the creator of the ‘all dots’ digital transformation model.
Her health tech brand, CheckUp health, received £43k support from the UK government’s highly competitive sustainable innovation fund. Through this company, Fungai helps individuals have access to a user-friendly app and desktop versions for all ages to start managing their health and reduce the need to see a GP. Some of her initiatives were supported by the president’s office of the Zimbabwe Ministry of Information. Fungai’s goal is to improve digital healthcare knowledge transfer with CheckUp Health UK.