Taking an MSc in Health Data Science has given medical student Tamir Sirkis a fresh perspective on his own future.

At school he had a talent for coding, maths and statistics and found he missed them when he began studying to become a doctor at the University of Exeter.

Offered the chance to take time out for an additional degree before starting his final year at medical school he was intrigued by the university’s postgraduate course in health data science which is funded by HDR UK.

Students undertake real-world projects and learn cutting edge data management skills on a course that is delivered by experts from mathematics, computing, biomedical science, the NHS and industry.

Tamir has been hugely impressed with what he has learned about the potential for health data science to advance care and in the possible applications for AI. He contributed to The Data Science and AI in the Age of COVID Alan Turing Institute workshop.

The course has already inspired him to start and extra-curricula project to develop a haematology app to help clinicians decide on the best treatments for myeloma patients.

Over the summer he will also be doing an MSc project to assess aspects of the RECOVERY trial.

Looking to the future Tamir now hopes to develop a research interest in health data science alongside his clinical practice.