Health Data Science

Theme Leads: Elizabeth Williamson (LSHTM) and Julia Critchley (SGUL)

Data Science at the interface of human health and biology (including modelling, data analytics, artificial intelligence and machine learning) is a strategic priority for the MRC, as is the cross-cutting theme of quantitative skills.

LSHTM is a world leader in Health Data Science, with expertise in the creation, linkage and analysis of a wide range of data sources, encompassing data on environmental and social factors as well as ‘omics data, both human and pathogen. We are also uniquely placed to translate health data science to low-and-middle-income country (LMIC) settings, where this field is rapidly developing.

LSHTM’s new MSc in Health Data Science, developed with an award from Health Data Research UK, and with multiple cross-sectoral partnerships provides a source of highly trained potential applicants for this programme, complementing existing Master’s programmes in Epidemiology and Medical Statistics. SGUL also has long-standing expertise in analysing data from very large linked datasets including primary care databases, ONS mortality and hospitalisation data, and European data on congenital anomalies and medication utilisation in pregnancy.