Interview Toheeb shared his experiences of the HDR UK Black Internship Programme

 

Toheeb recently completed an eight-week placement with the Trust’s Imperial Clinical Analytics, Research and Evaluation (iCARE), an NIHR Imperial BRC supported initiative, team as part of Health Data Research UK’s Black Internship Programme. The internship programme helps provide opportunities for talented early-career Black people to excel in their health data science careers.

Here, Toheeb shares his experience of the internship.

Tell us about your educational background.

I completed my undergraduate in Computer Science at the University of Benin in Nigeria and then worked on the use of technologies to automate business processes for the banking industry for a few years. With the emergence of artificial intelligence, I was keen to upskill in this area, so I decided to move to the UK to do a Master’s degree in Artificial Intelligence and Data Science at the University of Hull.

I have always been interested in the health sector and I made sure that every project I chose during my Master’s was related to health because I felt this is an area that can impact everybody.

What inspired you to apply to the programme?

I heard about the HDR UK internship programme through my university group and decided to apply as I was keen to gain hands-on experience in data science in the health sector. The programme is uniquely designed to empower Black students and graduates, like myself, by providing us with access to training, mentorship, and practical experience in the health data science arena.

I was so grateful to be selected for the programme and I couldn’t have asked for a better organisation than Imperial College Healthcare to complete my internship.

Tell us about the projects that you’ve been supporting during your placement.

As part of the iCARE team, I’ve been lucky to work on a real-world project that can impact patient care. I’ve been supporting the ‘preventing hospitalisation of patients with diabetes’ project and my role focuses on exploratory data analysis where I’ve been analysing the identification of diabetic patients using their blood group and diagnosis code. I’m also evaluating the impact of diabetes on patient length of stay and the complications of hyperglycaemia – high blood sugar.

What is the potential impact of this project on patient care?

The rationale for this project is aligned with the Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) diabetes recommendation, which emphasises early identification of patients with diabetes on admission. This allows for a better assessment of their risk for hospital-acquired harm, such as hyperglycaemia or hypoglycaemia. The need for this approach stems from the fact that diabetes is highly prevalent in hospitals approximately 20%, with many patients admitted for non-diabetes-related conditions. However, a significant proportion of these patients do not receive timely care from diabetes specialists, which can lead to avoidable complications.

How have you been working with other HDR UK interns?

I worked on exploratory data analysis of lung cancer as part of an HDR UK technical challenge. This was a group project with other interns from different host organisations. I’m pleased to share that our team won the technical challenge presentation, which was a great testament to our collaborative efforts and innovative approach.

How have you been supported through your internship?

I’ve been mentored by James and Catalina who have been very supportive throughout my internship and encouraged me along the way. They have different career experiences, so it’s been very valuable for me to get their different perspectives on health data science – from research methodologies to analytical skills.

What’s been a particular highlight of your internship?

My main highlight has been the opportunity to work on a project where my work could potentially contribute to improving patient care – this has been very rewarding. Secondly, the opportunity for me to develop my technical data skills and apply them to meaningful projects.

Lastly, the iCARE team itself has been fantastic and I’ve learned a lot from my colleagues. This is my first job in the UK and everyone has been so supportive and welcoming. I’ve grown a lot professionally during the short time I’ve already spent with the team.

What do you plan to do next?

I am very motivated to continue my career in health data science, and I am excited to share that I will be staying on with the iCARE team in a fixed-term position. The experience and skills I’ve gained during my internship, combined with this new opportunity, will be invaluable as I further develop my expertise in this field and contribute to the team’s goal of improving patient care.