EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Health Data Science 2018-23

Insights derived from the analysis of large, complex data sets will make significant contributions to the prevention and treatment of disease. The aim of this doctoral training programme in Health Data Science is to offer systematic training in statistics, machine learning, and data management. Core to the entire programme is to combine this technical training with a foundation in ethics. 

Ethics plays a central role in health data science, and our approach to doctoral training reflects this. Ethics and research responsibility is a vertical theme running through the four years of the programme. Each of the first two terms begins with a week of training in ethics, responsible research and innovation, and collaborative working. In the first term, this training addresses ethical issues in data science and big data in general. In the second, it focuses upon specific ethics and governance issues in health data science and healthcare delivery. 

This EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Health Data Science is located in the Big Data Institute/Oxford Population Health Building at the University of Oxford.

This programme is closed to applications

We are no longer accepting applications for the Health Data Science programme.

However, we have a similar programme, EPSRC CDT in Healthcare Data Science. Details on how to apply can be found on our course page and admissions page on the University website for information about entry this autumn.

The Centre is hosted within the Big Data Institute (BDI)/Oxford Population Health (OxPop) Building, a purpose-built building at the heart of the University of Oxford's biomedical campus. The Big Data Institute is an analytical hub for multi-disciplinary working at Oxford, connecting world-leading expertise in statistics, computer science, and engineering to data-driven research in clinical medicine and population health. It is also home to the Ethox Centre, a world-leading centre for clinical and research ethics, and the Oxford Centre for Ethics and Humanities. 

The building hosts the clinical informatics and big data activity of the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Oxford Biomedical Research Centre (BRC), a substantial programme of translational research, delivered by the University in partnership with Oxford University Hospitals (OUH) NHS Foundation Trust. CDT students will have the opportunity to contribute to the work at the BRC, to access the expertise of the team, and to become involved in multi-centre research collaborations. 

The BDI/OxPop Building is also home to UK Biobank, a major national and international resource for health research. The Biobank team are leading the development of tools for the acquisition, processing, analysis, and re-use of data from clinical and online assessments, imaging, sensors, genotyping, and national datasets (including hospital episodes, death, and primary care) for a cohort of 500,000 participants. CDT students will have the opportunity to access the expertise of the team, and to become involved in Biobank-based research.