Dr Emily Seto (University of Toronto) and Dr Pauline Whelan (University of Manchester) work on the translation of digital health research into clinical practice, with particular expertise in the design, adoption and spread of apps in healthcare. Videha explores Emily and Pauline’s unique backgrounds and discusses the importance of leadership skills to manage clinical, academic and industry stakeholders when working on digital health research. Pauline then shares the role of a design-led approach to ensure digital health solutions are designed to the needs of the users and achieve intended benefits. Emily shares her experience of overcoming barriers to adoption and they both discuss the challenges of scaling successful solutions across geographies.  

Dr Joe Firth is a UKRI Future Leaders Fellow. His research focuses on using digital technologies and physical health interventions to improve outcomes for people living with mental illness. Joe tells Videha about why digital health technologies offer promise when it comes to supporting people living with mental illness and gives a sneak preview on his forthcoming work, including a follow-up to the influential Lancet Commission report on protecting physical health in people with mental illness.

Guests Charlotte Stockton-Powdrell and Ruth Norris are pushing the boundaries of traditional ways of working in academic research by harnessing the power of interdisciplinary and diverse teams to boost creativity and innovation. Ruth and Charlie talk to Videha about ‘team science’, the importance of role of non-academic roles in research and how bringing in skilled specialists can enrich the thinking and design of health technology.

Dr Claudia Lindner is a Sir Henry Dale Fellow specialising in automated analysis of medical images to study, diagnose and manage musculoskeletal disorders. Lamiece talks to Claudia about her new fellowship plans, how AI is reshaping job roles in medical imaging and her experiences of research cultures in the different countries she’s worked in.

This special episode was recorded live from the HETT (Healthcare Excellence Through Technology) North Event held on 2nd March 2023 at Manchester Central. The episode features commentary from Lamiece and Videha plus interviews with speakers, attendees and organisers including Jenny Chong (Medway NHS Trust), Emma–Victoria Fell (HETT North) and Paul Johnston (Health Innovation Manchester).

Dr Alex Casson’s research lab focuses on designing and applying wearable sensors for monitoring the human body in everyday life. Alex and Lamiece discuss the future of wearable sensing technologies to monitor health outside of traditional clinics, the challenges of translating cutting-edge research into everyday patient healthcare pathways and whether the hype is likely to live up the reality.

Health informatician Dr Sabine van der Veer and psychiatrist Dr Allison Crawford have forged an international research partnership between the Universities of Manchester and Toronto to drive forward thinking about digital health inequities.

Videha finds out why it is important to think carefully about health inequities when planning digital interventions and how innovators can begin to assess and reduce the risk of inequities occurring as a result of introducing new technologies.

In the opening episode, we speak to Professor Niels Peek, who is Director of the Christabel Pankhurst Institute and the University of Manchester's lead for Digital Health and Care. Niels has a background in computer science and AI, and his research focuses on translational data science for clinical risk prediction, personalised and precision medicine, patient safety, and multimorbidity. 

Niels and Videha discuss how to create thriving environments for health technology innovation and what makes a good leader.