CEO update

It’s been an exciting couple of weeks for HDRS as we move into delivery following our formal establishment as a company on the 26^th June. 

9^th July marked another key milestone: the official launch of HDRS, brand and this website. We also held our first HDRS Four Nations Council. HDRS is committed to working collaboratively across the UK, and our Four Nations Council is a key part of that – informing and shaping our decisions as we build HDRS, to maximise the benefits for all. Colleagues from across England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales brought real energy and expertise to the table and it was clear how committed everyone is to making this work. We all recognise that HDRS presents a real opportunity to make it possible to study broader populations than would usually be possible, with real potential to improve health outcomes and accelerate development of new treatments. 

On Monday, we officially moved into our new home at the Wellcome Genome Campus in Cambridge, joining a world class community of scientists and data experts. We were made hugely welcome by colleagues on the site and we’re very much looking forward to working alongside them. We will continue to maintain a London office in Euston, working across both sites.

Now fully incorporated, we are starting to build the HDRS team. I was thrilled to appoint Chris Schonewald as our Chief Operating Officer last week and we are now advertising for our Chief Technology and Product Officer, with more roles to follow next week. These key appointments only add to the momentum and progress over the last few weeks. 

And we are moving towards our first strategic investments – our driver projects will not only speed up progress towards our long-term transformation goals, they will also give us an evidence base to work on for future programmes. Last week, we were delighted to launch the first of two funding calls for ‘Driver Projects’, our ‘Technical Transformation Projects’ to improve and standardise the technology with a focus on boosting the safety and security of existing secure data environments. In early August, we’ll launch our second funding call, for ‘Data Driver Projects’ to show how data, infrastructure and access routes already in place can deliver research, clinical or public impact now. 

HDRS has a dual role: improving health outcomes and supporting regional and national growth, by creating the right environment for researchers and innovators to bring their studies, and investments to the UK.  This week we have continued to build on our relationships across the country, meeting with colleagues in Birmingham and Greater Manchester – learning more about the amazing work they are doing to boost research and innovation, to improve care and unlock Life Sciences growth in their regions, and to discuss the opportunities for HDRS to amplify their work. 

Finally, I would like to take a moment to thank Patrick Vallance, who stepped down as Science Minister after two years in the role. Patrick has long been a passionate advocate for the use of health data for research and was instrumental in the establishment of HDRS. His commitment to unlocking the potential of health data has left a lasting legacy. We’re hugely grateful for the part he played in getting us here and look forward to continuing to work with him in his new role as chair of new PM AI Taskforce.