Data scientists including those from Imperial and across London met at the latest Upstream event in Hammersmith.

On 1 November 2023, data scientists from Imperial College London and other universities and industries from around London met in Hammersmith to hear about and discuss the latest trends and biggest challenges the sector faces. 

This event was organised by Upstream, an ongoing partnership between Hammersmith & Fulham Council and Imperial College London – helping to connect, support and shine a light on the science, tech and creative sectors since 2018.

Data scientists are already in high-demand and the industry itself is constantly evolving and growing as more businesses aim to invest in AI and Machine Learning, making these networking events of great importance. 

List of speakers:

Dr César Quilodrán Casas: César is a Research Associate at the Data Science Institute (DSI), Imperial College London. His current work includes Data Assimilation, Reduced Order Models and Machine Learning applications. He completed his PhD degree in the Space and Atmospherics Physics Group, Imperial College London. César talk focused on his research using machine learning and data science to monitor and predict air pollution levels in London. 

Andy Armitage: Andy is Solution Sales Specialist at Medidata Solutions. He specialises in various AI solutions, such as the Value Discovery Engine, Integrated Evidence & Data Strategy, and Connected Patient solutions, all designed to provide actionable insights across the life sciences sector, particularly in areas like gene therapy and rare diseases. Andy discussed Medidata's AI-driven approach to accelerate portfolio optimization using the industry's largest scientific and operational dataset - ‘9,000,000 Patients across 30,000 Historical Clinical Trials’, covering clinical development to commercialisation. 

Tobias Alpsten: Tobias is the Founder and CEO of iPLATO Healthcare, with a vision to simply access to healthcare, everywhere. iPLATO is a leading supplier to the NHS and other health organisations with their easy-to-use patient engagement platform, helping primary care physicians around the UK to harness the power of better communication.

Bella Patel: Bella is a Data Scientist at iPLATO Healthcare where she works using big data sets from the NHS. She was previously a data analyst at IHS Markit (now part of S&P Global) and in fintech businesses.

Tobias and Bella discussed iPLATO's expanding presence in the UK and internationally, serving over 2,500 practices and 2.9 million users through their myGP patient app. Their presentation focused on using data science, including LLMs, Generative AI, and ML, to reduce variation in diagnosis rates across GP practices, especially in underserved communities, utilising large datasets from NHS Digital and the National QOF Database for evidence-driven healthcare improvements.

Find out more about the next Upstream event: 'Deep Tech Network Meet Up' here.