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Prof Harry Hemingway
Professor of Clinical Epidemiology
Institute of Health Informatics
Faculty of Pop Health Sciences
- Joined UCL
- 23rd May 1997
Research summary
The central focus of Harry's research is to develop underpinning methods to exploit the scale and phenotypic resolution of electronic health records (EHR) to accelerate early and late phase translational research. He has published over 200 papers and has an h-index of 57 with 27,657 citations. His research is cited in seven major clinical guidelines and public health policies with implications for the health of millions. As Research Director Health Data Research UK (2017–), with £120m initial investment and long term (15+ years) horizons, he delivered an historic ‘first ever’ pan London research partnership in biomedicine around his science vision across London’s five universities (Imperial, King’s, QMUL, LSHTM and UCL) establishing governance arrangements and legal contracts. HDR UK London has influenced ministerial decisions to award the Digital Innovation Hubs Programme to HDR UK.
Examples of him developing underpinning methods to exploit the scale and phenotypic resolution of EHRs to accelerate early and late phase translational research include the establishment of CALIBER (www.caliberresearch.org/) with IHI's Prof Spiros Denaxas, a web-based portal for sharing computable phenotypic algorithms and other informatics tools for the wider research community. There are currently >100 registered users and over 300 phenotypes curated,>30 publications and >1300 citations.
Additionally, he established fundamental principles of EHR phenotyping and validity testing with multiple record sources e.g. for myocardial infarction; algorithms widely shared in UK Biobank showcase. He led the Prognosis Research Strategy (PROGRESS) MRC Partnership making methodological recommendations for improving research in outcomes, biomarkers, risk prediction and stratified medicine; 2018 being advanced in relation to AI in new collaboration with Turing Institute.
Harry's research exploiting clinical record linkages has already impacted three main areas: public health policy; international clinical practice impacting millions of patients with, or at risk of, cardiovascular diseases; and national policy on data and informatics.
Teaching summary
As Director of the UCL Institute of Health Informatics (2014-present) Harry has grown the largest traing programme in health informatics. There are now over 160 current postgraduate students on our MSc and PhD programmes and three new MScs have been launched in recent years.
Education
- Royal College of Physicians
- Doctorate, Fellow of the Faculty of Public Health | 2005
- Royal College of Physicians
- Doctorate, Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians | 2005
- London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
- Other higher degree, Master of Science | 1995
- University of Cambridge
- Doctorate, Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery | 1988
- University of Cambridge
- First Degree, Bachelor of Arts | 1985
Biography
Harry is currently Professor of Clinical Epidemiology and Institute Director at the UCL Institute of Health Informatics. Since 2018, Harry has also held the position of Research Director at Health Data Research UK (HDR UK) London, bringing together five London universities (UCL, Imperial College London, Kings College London, Queen Mary University London and London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine) in partnerships for data science for health.
Most recently Harry has published research with IHI's Dr Michalis Katsoulis on weight change and the onset and progression of cardiovascular diseases in large-scale electronic health records (2021). Harry also leads the 'Prognostic Atlas' project with IHI's Dr. Alvina Lai. The Atlas is science-led and co-produced by patients and clinicians, which provides a framework for the generation of new data-driven prognostic information that curates existing information across the disease phenome (covering thousands of diseases captured in primary and secondary care health records) and integrates fully with the HDR UK Innovation Gateway and the wider infrastructure.
In recognition of his contribution to advancing medical science and translating developments into benefits for patients and wider society, Harry was elected a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences in 2019.