In celebration of data science and supporting an inclusive research culture
Charlotte George and Rachel Etherington, based in the MRC Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, write about their work on a UK-wide initiative to support the inclusion and integration of data scientists working in biomedical science.
Have you ever generated a large dataset, analysed it using computational techniques, or collaborated with those who do? From protein modelling to population genetics, spatial transcriptomics to systems immunology and medical imaging, data science is an integral part of biomedical research. But how much do you really know about the computational researchers of RDM? We interviewed four researchers from the Centre for Computational Biology based in the MRC Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine to find out more about their role - watch the video above!
Why we want to highlight data science
Funders are highly concerned about the lack of integration and progression opportunities for data scientists in biomedicine. The MRC-funded X-NET Project was set up to look at removing barriers to interdisciplinary research. Along with David Sims, and others outside of RDM, I (Charlotte) was involved in writing the project's report, which sheds light on many hidden barriers that can face computational and mathematical biomedical researchers. Barriers include perceived hostility from research communities towards those from other disciplines, the extended time it takes to generate interdisciplinary outputs, the challenge of non-traditional career paths and an undervaluing of collaborative working, among others.
But it's not all doom and gloom! Generating a positive research culture with diverse teams has become an important national conversation. Recent changes to the Research Excellence Framework (REF) to include heavier emphasis on the People, Culture and Environment contribution and funders' increasing emphasis on team and interdisciplinary research provide evidence that UK government and funding bodies understand the importance of a positive and open environment. So now is the perfect time to engage with these conversations.
So, what are we doing about it?
In response to the recommendations made by X-NET, the INTEGRATE team (which I, Charlotte, lead along with David Sims) recently received an MRC Biomedical Data Science Leadership Award to investigate ways in which institutes and funders can better support data scientists in their academic development. While INTEGRATE is based in Oxford, we are working with partners across the UK, including Health Data Research UK, the University of Dundee, and Cancer Research UK, in addition to the network of other Biomedical Data Science Leadership Award holders from Edinburgh, Liverpool, Leeds and the Turing Institute. We aim to provide solid evidence to research institutions and funders about the changes which can make a real impact.
Our planned initiatives include:
- A national survey to identify good practices that support biomedical data scientist integration and career progression.
- Evaluating the effectiveness of peer mentoring schemes and hackathons in improving teamworking skills and interdisciplinary community building.
- Feasibility studies into to implementing cross-sector knowledge exchange such as industry secondments and lab exchanges through 'agility' fellowships.
What about non-data scientists?
Although INTEGRATE focuses on supporting data scientists, improving interdisciplinary and collaborative working is beneficial to all researchers and will help to support a more inclusive and open research culture. This is a community issue that data scientists cannot fix on their own and we are keen to involve all biomedical researchers and research professionals to maximise its relevance and potential.
How can members of RDM get involved?
Whether you're a computational or wet-lab researcher, a PI, technical expert or someone interested in supporting research culture and staff development, we would love to hear from you! We will be distributing a UK-wide survey in the coming months aimed at identifying good practice in biomedical data science career development and collaboration, so look out for our link and please share with all relevant communities.
There will be other opportunities for computational and non-computational researchers to get involved too. For more details, keep an eye on your social media channels (listed below) for more information.
Interested or want to know more? Feel free to email charlotte.george@imm.ox.ac.uk or join our mailing list.