Reecha Sofat is a FLIER participant and Professor of Clinical Pharmacology at UCL where she is working to use routine data to improve medicines. Reecha has told us what issue in health research she would like to tackle and her hopes for the future.
Q: What issue in health research do you want to take on and why?
A: I am interested in leveraging data to help us both to use medicines better and to make better medicines. Medicines are a major public health intervention and represent a large proportion of expenditure in the NHS. However, we do not routinely link medicines data with health outcomes to understand if medicines are being used in the right way, what harms are associated with medicines and if their benefits are being realised. We could use medicines better if we link data on prescriptions with outcomes recorded in patients’ health records. We are also now able to define diseases, such as stroke, into more precise categories. This means we could discover medicines that target or even prevent specific disease subtypes. If we can embed research into routine health care we can create a constant cycle of knowledge generation, which can be fed back directly into improving patient care.
Q: What have you learnt on the FLIER programme?
A: FLIER has helped me take a step back and reflect on my work. This has helped me clarify the questions that I want to address and why. FLIER has also helped me consider the nature of interaction across sectors, how this could benefit the health of an individual and how I might do this in my own work.
Q: What have you done differently as a result of FLIER?
A: FLIER has helped me particularly with confidence; confidence to fail, but also not being afraid of success. As a result of FLIER, I’ve had the confidence to put myself in situations that I would perhaps not have put myself in before, to capitalise on opportunities and connect with those from multi-professional backgrounds. This has been particularly useful in thinking about solving problems differently.
Q: What advice would you give to your younger self?
A: To be self-aware and deliberate in your planning and action. This is advice I actually do give it to those younger than me.
Q: What are your hopes for the future in your work?
A: I aim to continue to build on the work that I have begun to establish, which currently has an academic focus, but to expand it to a cross sector approach.
Professor Reecha Sofat is a participant in Round 2 of the Academy of Medical Sciences’ FLIER programme, a unique programme that will develop leaders of the future who can create collaborations across academia, industry, the NHS and government to drive innovation.
The FLIER programme is generously supported by the Dennis and Mireille Gillings Foundation and the Government Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy ‘Investment in Research Talent’ fund. You can find out more about our funding model and explore our donors here, or visit our Support Us webpage to explore ways to help our work.
