Theme Lead: Professor Cecilia Lindgren
Co-theme Lead: Professor Eva Morris
Data science is transforming healthcare; combining statistical analysis and machine learning to patient records and research data allow us to identify opportunities to improve the delivery of care and evaluate if they are working.
The challenge of our theme is to develop the applied data science needed for high-quality, large-scale research that will lead to improvements in healthcare.
Our theme is using data to push forward innovation, increase efficiency in the NHS and improve the quality of care that patients experience. Among our priorities are improving care pathways, tackling healthcare inequalities and improving patient safety, with a particular focus on cancer and cardiovascular medicine but including many other common diseases such as diabetes and mental health.
We are extremely collaborative and are working closely with other BRC themes, universities and NHS trusts across the UK as well as several industry partners. Patients and members of the public are involved at every stage of our work, including the design and delivery of research projects.
Many of our researchers are based at the world-leading Big Data Institute, while our host NHS trust, Oxford University Hospitals (OUH) has a state-of-the-art data platform, with a secure warehouse that links clinical and research data from hospitals, primary and social care, allowing BRC researchers to use data in a near-clinical setting under NHS governance.
Clinical informatics experts from the Oxford BRC were the driving force behind the successful RECOVERY Trial, the world’s largest trial looking at potential COVID-19 treatments, which recruited 43,000 participants across 180 NHS sites and identified three effective treatments – and ruled out several more. They also developed the science that underpinned the NHS Test and Trace App.
Our research is organised into four sub-themes:
Sub-theme 1: Healthcare observation and transformation
Led by Professor Jim Davies and Professor Eva Morris
We are looking at how we can use patient data to drive improvements in care and outcomes across the NHS. Read more
Sub-theme 2: Deep phenotyping
Lead: Professor Thomas Nichols
Using data with untapped potential to augment existing methods and deliver better outcomes for patients. Read more
Sub-theme 3: Translational genomics
Lead: Professor Cecilia Lindgren
We will use the genomic information taken from large patient cohorts and combine it with other data to better predict risk and stratify patients. Read more
Sub-theme 4: Clinical trials and evaluation
Lead: Professor Martin Landray
We are developing the methodology and evaluation techniques to carry out large-scale trials using routinely collected data. Read more