£2m grant for researchers using mathematics to work with healthcare data

£2m grant from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council to set up a new Centre focused on improving health.

The new Centre for Mathematics of Precision Healthcare, led by Professor Mauricio Barahona from our Department of Mathematics, will bring together mathematicians with researchers in computing, engineering and medicine.

And while their disciplines may be different, their aim will be shared; improving the overall health of people in the UK.

Turning data into meaningful information

“Although there is a huge amount of data out there, and an increasing array of computational methods, there is a need to bring new mathematical ideas to the analysis of such problems” says Professor Barahona.While ‘raw’ population data is useful in its own right, in the context of a disease outbreak for instance, there is so much potential for data to do more.

At the Centre, mathematicians will make a holistic analysis of the vast amount of data available from the healthcare sector and endeavour to turn it into something that is both intelligible and useful for colleagues working in medicine and public health.

Such information could inform large-scale public health campaigns, as well as highly targeted activity via social media. It could even help to usher in the era of ‘personalised medicine’.

For example, information about an individual patient, combined with population level data including lifestyle and socioeconomic factors could help a doctor make a faster diagnosis and to plan better, more targeted treatment for that patient – improving his or her chances of recovery.

Rising to the challenge of 21^st Century healthcare

The new Centre is part of a £10 million initiative from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council to use maths to tackle problems such as cancer, heart disease and antibiotic resistant bacteria.

The Life Sciences Minister, George Freeman, says: “Maths and statistics aren’t the first sciences that come to mind when we talk about healthcare innovation. But they have a very important part to play in developing 21st century solutions to the challenges facing clinicians every day in the NHS.”

Building on a tradition of success

While its role may be unsung, mathematical research provides the foundation for so many scientific and engineering breakthroughs, new technologies and innovations.

If you would like to support the Department and our talented students in pushing the limits of human knowledge, please visit our giving pages where you can find out how a gift can help.