Claire was originally attracted to the PhD programme because it gives opportunities to have a real impact on healthcare.

All the students on the programme take part in practical projects that address serious issues. In her foundation year Claire was part of a group that used data from Wuhan, in China, to try to identify sub-types of COVID-19 to enable more accurate prognoses.

Even though the initial foundation year was done online, Claire says that the students were mutually supportive – something that helped because they are all highly committed to their studies.

Similarly, the immersion sessions introduced her to people from a whole variety of professional backgrounds and disciplines who have been positive and helpful. Overall Claire found her foundation year experience to be a positive one in which she felt valued.

She has now begun a thesis study (which you can read more about here) into understanding and improving the fairness of risk prediction using health data.

Claire’s background

Claire took a BSc Computer Science at the University of Birmingham. After graduating she worked in a research and development role at a start-up before an MPhil in Advanced Computer Science at the University of Cambridge.

Outside her studies Claire enjoys singing, cooking, and exploring nature.