Transforming health through data science

King's College London has been chosen as a foundation partner of a new national institute Health Data Research (HDR) UK, and has received funding to address healthcare challenges using data science.

HDR UK is initially awarding £30 million in funding to six sites across the UK (Cambridge, London, Midlands, Oxford, Scotland and Wales/Northern Ireland). The London site includes King’s College London, University College London (UCL), Imperial College London, Queen Mary University of London and The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, in a collaborative partnership of five London universities. King’s Health Partners, UCL Partners, the Health Innovation Network, and eight London Biomedical Research Centres have supported this successful bid.

Each site has world-class expertise; a track record in using health data to derive new knowledge, scientific discovery and insight; and works in close partnership with NHS bodies and the public to translate research findings into benefits for patients and populations.

From April this year, the six sites will work collaboratively as foundation partners in Health Data Research UK to make game-changing improvements in people’s health by harnessing data science at scale across the UK. 

Each site’s research organisations will receive long-term funding awards and will become part of a collaborative research community working together to deliver the priorities of HDR UK. This initial funding is awarded following a rigorous application process, which included interviews with an international panel of experts.

Professor Tim Hubbard, Director of Bioinformatics at King’s Health Partners, said:

This collaborative partnership will herald a new and exciting era in healthcare that will combine the knowledge and skills of London's leading universities, the NHS and industrial partners to generate more benefits for patients more quickly.

Scientific investigators at King's College London are Richard Dobson, Vasa Curcin, Robert Stewart, Sean Beevers, Martin Gulliford, Matthew Hotopf, Tim Hubbard, Frank Kelly, Sabine Landau, Cathryn Lewis, Julia Schnabel, Michael Simpson, Tim Spector, Daniel Stahl, and Charles Wolfe.

This is the first phase of investment to establish Health Data Research UK. A further £24 million will be invested in upcoming activities, including a Future Talent Programme and work to address targeted data research challenges through additional partnership sites. 

Read more on the King’s College London website.