The UK MS Register were pleased to take part in this year’s HDR UK Black Internship Programme. This initiative aims to transform opportunities for young black professionals in the UK and help them thrive in health data science careers. Earlier in the summer we welcomed two talented interns to the team:
Name: Joy Amobi
Project title: Exploring the pain associated with MS.
Tell us about yourself and why you are interested in health data science.
I’ve always been fascinated by the intersection of science and numbers and how integrating these two can create useful discoveries. I’ve seen how data can provide health information and practical insights for improving lives, and I wanted to join a team that carried out this type of work.
What project are you working on, and how is it going?
Right now, I’m working on pain associated with multiple sclerosis (MS). I’m looking into the experiences of people living with MS and what they’re saying about different symptoms that could be analytically themed as pain. It’s been going really well as I’m learning how to apply useful data science tools to create solutions.
What has been the highlight of your internship so far?
The people—the team—have all been welcoming and supportive. The support I receive on a daily basis has pushed me to learn faster and better. Another highlight for me is learning how to use some great tools to work on projects.
What key insights have you gained about health data science during your internship?
I’ve gained a better knowledge of data and the many useful insights that can be derived from a dataset. I’ve also learned about the importance of data quality and how much effort is devoted to cleaning data to ensure accurate conclusions are drawn.
What are your career aspirations?
The goal is to continually improve patient and business outcomes through data-driven insights. I aspire to pursue a career path that incorporates data and scientific research to provide useful and sustainable health and business information.
Name: Laura Khaukha
Project title: Exploring whether a patient’s dietary intake and dysbiosis has an impact on the disease progression and/or disease manifestation of MS.
Tell us about yourself and why you are interested in health data science.
I recently completed a BSc in Biochemistry at the University of Exeter and will shortly be undertaking an MSc in Health Data Science at UCL. Alpha Fold, a protein structure prediction instrument, initially sparked my interest in health data science by illuminating the impact of intersecting biochemistry and data science.
What project are you working on, and how is it going?
After reading articles on MS immunity, I decided to explore the impact of dietary intake on microbiome diversity and disease progression. I am still in the early stages of executing this project; however, the data availability seems promising.
What has been the highlight of your internship so far?
During this internship, one of my highlights has been getting to know and learning from perceptive colleagues from diverse academic backgrounds. Another highlight was investigating the impact of MS, either through exploring literature reviews or by analysing the data available at the UK MS Register.
What key insights have you gained about health data science during your internship?
Key insights I have gained during this internship include the coding resources provided to me, which are handy for my future career in health data science. I have also learnt some intricacies surrounding MS’s pathogenesis.
What are your career aspirations, and how has this internship influenced them?
In the future, I hope to work in health data science within a pharmaceutical company. This internship, in combination with my upcoming MSc in Health Data Science at UCL, will strengthen my coding and analytical skills and equally prepare me for my future .
Dr Rod Middleton, Principal Investigator at the UK MS Register, said:
“It’s been great having Joy and Laura join the team this summer. It’s always nice to be able to provide a positive experience of a ‘real’ workplace to graduates, and we aim to help inspire the next generation of early career researchers.”
“For the Register it’s useful to hear fresh perspectives on how we carry out tasks related to a project. Interns help with this as they usually have little prior experience of working in an environment like Data Science. It’s good to have our assumptions challenged and be questioned on why we do things a certain way.”
You can read more about this fantastic initiative, and this year’s interns here.
