Data Science for Climate and Health

When: March 5, 2025

Where: Bristol, United Kingdom

REGISTER

Join the Jean Golding Institute at the SS Great Britain, Bristol, on Wednesday 5 March for an inspiring afternoon of talks and a panel discussion highlighting the careers and research conducted by women* in the field of climate and health using data science and AI.

We are delighted to be welcoming Professor Aline Villavicencio, Director of the Institute for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence and Professor in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Exeter to talk about her career and the contribution of women to data science within the fields of climate and health.

We will also be welcoming Beatriz Costa Gomes (Research Fellow at the Alan Turing Institute), Laura Tan (co-founder of Avid Health) Penny Holborn (Head of Data and AI Literacy at Ofgem) and Nicola Wiseman (Research Associate at University of Bristol) to talk about their research on climate and health using data science and AI, followed by a panel discussion hosted by Laura Gemmell (founder of Taught by Humans).

*Women* includes cis, trans, non-binary.

SPEAKERS
- Aline Villavicencio, Director of the Institute of Data Science and Artificial Intelligence, University of Exeter: Aline Villavicencio is the Director of the Institute of Data Science and Artificial Intelligence, University of Exeter, affiliated to the Department of Computer Science, University of Sheffield (UK), has a Fellowship at the Alan Turing Institute and is a Visiting Professor at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte (Brazil). Before these, she held academic positions in the Institute of Informatics, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil (between 2005 and 2021) and in the School of Computer Science and Electronic Engineering, University of Essex, UK.

- Beatriz Costa Gomez, Turing Research Fellow: Bea is currently a Turing Research Fellow at the Alan Turing Institute. Previously, Bea worked as a Post Doctoral Research Associate in the molecular biology group at the Turing, bridging between sciences. During her PhD, she developed tools to fast-track the analysis of diseased neurons in culture, with different neurodegenerative diseases. As a science communicator, Bea is one of the hosts of the Turing Podcast and often speaks at events for all ages to talk about science and scientific careers. In her free time, she also does amateur stand-up comedy.

- Nicola Wiseman, Research Associate, University of Bristol: Dr. Nicola A. Wiseman is a Research Associate in the Bristol Research Initiative for the Dynamic Global Environment in the School of Geographical Sciences at the University of Bristol. They received their Bachelor's of Science in Environmental Science with high honours in research from the University of Rochester in New York, USA before completing their Ph.D. in Earth System Science at the University of California, Irvine. Their research focuses on using computational methods to understand the ocean's role in carbon dioxide uptake, particularly the role of microscopic algae known as "phytoplankton." They have co-authored research articles in Science and Nature Communications and have presented at international conferences for the American Geophysical Union, European Geophysical Union, and Challenger Society. Dr. Wiseman is currently working on a project funded by the Jean Goulding Institute called "C-GAPS: Cellular to Global Assessment of Phytoplankton Stoichiometry" which aims to compile laboratory data from universities around the globe that measure the carbon and nutrient usage of marine phytoplankton and use statistical models to understand what drives variations in carbon uptake by these phytoplankton.

- Laura Gemmell, Founder of Taught by Humans | Empowering Lifelong Learning: Laura is a technologist with a passion for making learning accessible and engaging. With over 10 years’ experience building tech products for Monzo, PwC, and Worldpay, and a PhD focused on AI education for the public, Laura brings together her expertise in education and technology to run Taught by Humans, helping businesses upskill their teams for the future of work. Laura also leads SW*AID (South West Women in AI and Data), building an inclusive community around connection and community, and of course AI.

- Penny Holborn, Head of Data & AI Literacy, Ofgem: Penny has recently joined Ofgem as the Head of Data & AI Literacy. Prior to that she joined the Data Science Campus at the ONS in September 2021 as Head of Faculty to design and deliver the Government Data Science Graduate Programme and then moved on to lead Data Science Capability building Internationally. Before joining the Civil Service, she was a Senior Lecturer in Mathematics and Data Science at the University of South Wales and was the academic lead for the award-winning Welsh Data Science Graduate programmes. She has a wealth of experience in course development, curriculum design and stakeholder management. Penny has a PhD in Mathematics and a BSc in Mathematics, Operational Research and Statistics from Cardiff University. She is a Fellow of The Higher Education Academy and holds a Post Graduate Certificate in Developing Professional Practice in Higher Education.

- Laura Tan, Medical Doctor (MBBS BSc), NHS Clinical Entrepreneur and Co-founder of Avid: Dr. Laura Tan is a Medical Doctor (MBBS BSc), NHS Clinical Entrepreneur and Co-founder of Avid, where she combines her clinical, technical and academic expertise to build and scale impactful care solutions to shift healthcare to be more preventative, predictive and personalised. Graduating from Imperial College Medical School, she worked across a wide variety of specialties, also securing an Academic Clinical Program at NHS Wales with research interests across data science, data analytics and AI in the clinical setting. She also completed an intercalated Cardiovascular Science BSc, building software to automate analysis of echocardiographic images. After building further programming skills in app and web development, she co-founded Avid - a VC backed digital health start up for proactive health action, through coaching, data and AI. She is driven by a mission to redefine preventative healthcare at scale - blending human expertise with AI to supercharge, in a product that combines consumer-grade engagement with clinical rigour and meaningful outcomes.