Angel Obierozie
Press release issued:
20 April 2021
The National Institute for Health Research Bristol Biomedical Research Centre (NIHR Bristol BRC), a partnership between the University of Bristol and University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust (UHBW), will host intern Angel Obierozie this summer as part of the Health Data Research UK (HDR UK) programme to tackle the underrepresentation of Black people in science.
The Black community is heavily underrepresented in the science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) community, with only 65 Black and 310 mixed and other individuals making up the total of 10,560 science professors in the UK – as highlighted in The Guardian.
HDR UK and its partners, including NIHR Bristol BRC, have recruited 54 interns, with over 30 being women, to join this year’s Black internship programme starting in the summer of 2021. The programme, in partnership with the 10,000 Black Interns initiative and the UK Health Data Research Alliance (HDR Alliance), will provide paid work experience to future Black data scientists as they work at 25 of HDR UK’s partner organisations.
Angel Obierozie said: "This summer I will be working with Bristol Biomedical Research Centre as an intern. During this internship I will be working on a project which aims to improve antimicrobial prescribing decisions by analysing linked data.
"This internship will provide me with the necessary career foundation and networking opportunities to fulfil my dream of becoming a health care data scientist in the future. I am interested to see and study the way in which health data resources and technology enhance the healthcare industry as well as optimise the outcome of the individual patient."
Dr Katy Turner, Reader in Infectious Disease Epidemiology at the University of Bristol, explained: "We are really excited to support the HDR UK Black internships scheme and look forward to working with our intern Angel in the summer. She will be joining our dynamic, multidisciplinary team and working with our colleagues across the health system on a real-world problem to inform clinical practice and policy around antimicrobial resistance."
Caroline Cake, CEO at HDR UK, added: "We are really looking forward to welcoming the 54 interns this summer to the exciting field of health data science. It is wonderful that so many opportunities have been created by organisations from the UK Health Data Research Alliance. I hope that for many of these interns, this will be the start of a long and successful career in health data science."
Angel's placement is part of the University of Bristol-led HDR UK Better Care South-West Partnership.
Further information
About Health Data Research UK
Health Data Research UK is the national institute for health data science. Its mission is to unite the UK’s health data to enable discoveries that improve people’s lives. It is a not-for-profit public benefit company funded by UK funded by UK Research and Innovation, the Department of Health and Social Care in England and equivalents in Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland, and leading medical research charities. @HDR_UK
About NIHR Bristol BRC
NIHR Bristol Biomedical Research Centre's (NIHR Bristol BRC) innovative biomedical research takes science from the laboratory bench or computer and develops it into new drugs, treatments or health advice. Its world-leading scientists work on many aspects of health, from the role played by individual genes and proteins to analysing large collections of data on hundreds of thousands of people. Bristol BRC is unique among the NIHR’s 20 BRCs across England, thanks to its expertise in ground-breaking population health research.
About the National Institute for Health Research
The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) is the nation's largest funder of health and care research. The NIHR:
- funds, supports and delivers high quality research that benefits the NHS, public health and social care
- engages and involves patients, carers and the public in order to improve the reach, quality and impact of research
- attracts, trains and supports the best researchers to tackle the complex health and care challenges of the future
- invests in world-class infrastructure and a skilled delivery workforce to translate discoveries into improved treatments and services
- partners with other public funders, charities and industry to maximise the value of research to patients and the economy.
The NIHR was established in 2006 to improve the health and wealth of the nation through research, and is funded by the Department of Health and Social Care. In addition to its national role, the NIHR supports applied health research for the direct and primary benefit of people in low- and middle-income countries, using UK aid from the UK government.
