Health Data Science research strand

Our Health Data Science strand focuses on building Bristol capacity to carry out interdisciplinary research that makes the best use of existing, routinely collected data to improve health, care and services.

With support from the Wellcome Trust Institutional Strategic Support Fund (ISSF) the strand had funding to support exemplar projects involving interdisciplinary collaborations across computer science/mathematics, engineering, health and social care, epidemiology and applied statistics and social science. The aim was to support projects that foster new interdisciplinary collaborations in the field of advanced data science with respect to real world health problems.

Here are the successful awardees from our 2021 Health Data Science funding call: 

• Phil Clatworthy and Kate Robson Brown: Developing a scaleable stroke imaging and clinical database to facilitate artificial intelligence research, innovation and adoption.
  Co-applicants: Marcus Bradley, North Bristol Trust; Rhona Galt, North Bristol Trust; Emma Kuwertz.
• Yvette Pyne and Edwin Simpson: Natural Language Processing of Primary Care Consultation Notes. 
• Mícheál Ó Breasail and Jonathan Rossiter: Embedded digital technologies to measure and modulate Life Space Mobility in older adults.
  Co-applicants: Emily Henderson, Fiona Lithander, Yoav Ben-Shlomo.

COVID-19 research

We recently ran a funding call to for impactful research led by early career staff COVID policy. We were looking to support research into SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 and the COVID-19 pandemic. The call was for applications from early career staff and funding can be used to support research in any area relating to the pandemic, including all approaches to health and in any faculty, school and discipline. The aim was to support research that has impact on human health, with impact understood in broad terms and as appropriate to the area of research proposed. 

The funding call was supported by the University of Bristol's Development and Alumni Relations Office (DARO) with support from the University's alumni and friends. 

Here are the successful awardees from the Elizabeth Blackwell Institute/DARO scheme for COVID-19 research: support for impactful research led by early career staff: 

• Joshua Bell: Obesity and severe COVID-19: strengthening causal inference using historical intensive care records.
• Ore Francis: Development of standardised virus pseudotype assay to quantify SARSCoV-2 neutralising antibodies in saliva and serum.
• Anu Goenka: T-cell response kinetics in an extended interval dosing schedule of the Pfizer SARS-CoV-2 vaccine: a key piece of the jigsaw puzzle informing a rational vaccination strategy.
• Jenny Barke: Loneliness and Social Connections of Older People: Lessons from lockdown.
• Katherine Fairhurst: The RESTORE-C19 Study: Exploring the experiences and outcomes of patients not offered immediate breast REconstruction after maSTectOmy for bREast cancer during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Sam Creavin: The effectiveness of a local and hyper-local Population Health Management approach in maximising vaccine uptake of the COVID-19 vaccine among groups vulnerable to health inequalities.
• Ahmed El-Medany: Assessment of chemoreflex control of respiratory and cardiovascular systems in Post-COVID-19 syndrome.