The two initiatives will be led by UCL’s Professor Roxanne Crosby-Nwaobi, an internationally recognised expert in ophthalmic health and marginalised people and the work will involve local Muslim, Jewish, Hindu, Christian and inter-faith groups.

Both projects will address critical challenges in data sharing and health equity, particularly within faith communities and underserved populations in the UK capital, where non-white residents make up more than half the population in ten of the city’s 33 boroughs. The aim is to understand and improve community engagement with health data research, while developing a toolkit for sustainable health partnerships with faith communities. 

Recognising the importance of embedding community-based research engagement in a new generation, Professor Crosby-Nwaobi, who is based at UCL Institute of Ophthalmology, will mentor a group of UCL undergraduates from the Faculty of Medical Sciences to co-lead and deliver the projects.

We are thrilled to launch these two projects with our community partners. Engaging with faith-based groups is essential to ensuring that health data is representative and equitable. This work will not only help to resolve historic issues of trust, but also create a roadmap for sustainable, community-led health data initiatives.

Roxanne Crosby-Nwaobi

Professor Roxanne Crosby-Nwaobi

UCL Institute of Ophthalmology

One of the projects, funded by the Toronto-based Reach Alliance, will focus on understanding attitudes toward data sharing among faith communities in London’s global majority populations. Recognising the historical and cultural factors that shape trust in data usage, this initiative aims to foster community-driven, ethical, and transparent approaches to data collection and dissemination. Working closely with faith-based organisations—including the Ascension Trust, Tower Hamlets InterFaith Forum, Croydon Swaminarayan Temple, and East London Mosque—the project will explore barriers to data sharing and co-develop solutions to improve representation in health research.

The second initiative, supported by the UCL East Community Engagement Seed Fund, will expand on this work with the Christ Apostolic Church (East District) in London, exploring attitudes, values and beliefs towards data sharing and establishing ways to engage local communities as knowledgeable partners in data collection and usage. As part of the project, the team will deliver workshops on eye health and the importance of research involvement and engagement.

In delivering these two projects, the UCL team will collaborate with the INSIGHT Health Data Research Hub at Moorfields Eye Hospital. INSIGHT is the world’s largest bioresource of ophthalmic imaging data and it will contribute its clinical research expertise in the curation and use of large-scale anonymised patient datasets for research that can benefit all communities.

Longstanding collaborator Professor Pearse Keane, Professor of Artificial Medical Intelligence at the UCL Institute of Ophthalmology, will support Professor Crosby-Nwaobi in mentoring the student cohort, together with Polly Rawlinson, Programme Manager for the Pearse Keane AI Lab and Dr Poppy Pierce. The medical student cohort comprises Marie Cilliers, Anna Hoang, Sancia Lam, Abigail Omotosho and Hiranmayee Sudarsan.

On completion of the projects, the team intends to share findings with the wider medical research and policy ecosystem to inform national discussions on health data governance and contribute to broader efforts to improve inclusivity in medical research.

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