Prof Katie Harron
Professor of Statistics
Population, Policy & Practice Dept
UCL GOS Institute of Child Health
- Joined UCL
- 1st Sep 2010
Research summary
Katie’s research falls into two main areas. Her methodological research focuses on the development of statistical methods for data linkage, and particularly for evaluating the quality of linkage. She aims to develop methods to exploit the rich data that are collected about populations as we interact with services throughout our lives. Her work facilitates the wider use of these population-based administrative and electronic data sources for epidemiological research, to support clinical trials, and to inform policy. She is a co-investigator on the Health Data Research UK - London site.
Katie’s applied research focuses on exploiting existing data sources to improve services for mothers and families, and particularly vulnerable families. Her aim is to improve our understanding of the health of individuals from birth to young adulthood. Her current research links data from health, education and social care at a national level, in order to determine outcomes of an early intervention for first time teenage mothers, and to explore variation in Health Visiting across England. Katie is passionate about increasing the public understanding of using administrative data for research.
Katie's work involves collaborations with a number of key stakeholders for national data, including the Office for National Statistics, NHS Digital, Department for Education and Public Health England. She is a member of the Confidentiality Advisory Committee, a national regulatory body responsible for overseeing access to identifiable data for research.
Teaching summary
Katie is a module leader for Evidence Based Child Health (MSc Paediatrics and Child Health, MRes in Child Health), a course leader for the NCRM Introduction to Data Linkage and Analysing Linked Data, and a lecturer on the UCL Data Science for Research in Health & Biomedicine MSc. She supervises a number of PhD students and is Deputy theme lead for the UCL-Birkbeck MRC DTP (Population Health).
Education
- University College London
- Doctorate, Doctor of Philosophy | 2014
- University of Sheffield
- Other higher degree, Master of Science | 2009
- University of Newcastle upon Tyne
- First Degree, Bachelor of Arts (Honours) | 2007
Biography
Katie completed her MSc in Statistics and the University of Sheffield and her PhD in Statistics at UCL. She was then awarded a Wellcome Trust Sir Henry Wellcome postdoctoral fellowship, which she undertook at the London School of Hygiene and the Institute of Clinical Evaluative Sciences, Toronto, Canada.