About us
![Staff at the Bennett Institute in 2024](/about-us/bennett-team-2024.jpg)
We’re here to improve people’s lives through better use of data
We are a multidisciplinary team of software developers, clinicians and academic researchers. We produce academic research papers, but we also use the same skills to build live, interactive, data-driven tools and services; as well as real, practical policy insights on how data can be used to improve lives.
- OpenPrescribing has 20,000 unique users every month
- TrialsTracker has received extensive global media coverage and help set the policy agenda
- OpenSAFELY is an open-source software platform, helping researchers do analysis onn more than 58 million people’s health records - without compromising their privacy
Our research covers a range of topics including: innovative informatics methods; variation in clinical care; behaviour change; research integrity; policy analysis; and more. We aim to embody new ways of working, and to be positive about the technical, regulatory and cultural barriers we encounter along the way.
Our aims and ambitions
We want to make private data more useful, without compromising privacy
We want to see:
more studies,
by more people, from a wider community,
that are better quality,
but lower cost
using more data
and open, reproducible methods
and done more safely, so that we always protect people’s privacy
What we believe in
Multidisciplinary teams get the best results. Our teams combine clinicians, data scientists, software engineers, information governance experts and many other disciplines. It’s essential to have that mix of experience and expertise working together - as a result, we do more, and we do it faster.
Being open helps us build trust. We’re transparent about how we use data. We share all our code openly, so anyone can see how it works. We’re open about all our methods and processes. We push for similar standards of openness from all our partners and stakeholders. Trust is essential when working with secure, private data - being open about what we do, and how we do it, is one way for us to earn that trust.
Doing is as important as thinking. We make software that acts in the real world, helping doctors understand medical prescribing behaviour at scale, or helping researchers to run experiments on real patient data, without compromising patient privacy.
We’re fearless, without being reckless. There are widespread systemic problems with how data is collected, stored, managed and used. We’re here to change things, to make big changes that benefit millions of people. Our ideas and methods can sometimes challenge the status quo, and we’re not afraid to do that. At the same time: we’re scientists, and professionals. We tread carefully.
Our team
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Ben Goldacre
Director of Bennett Institute for Applied Data Science
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Seb Bacon
Chief Technical Officer
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Alex Walker
Director of Research
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Alice Wong
Junior Developer
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Amir Mehrkar
Director of Information Governance and External Relations
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Andrea Schaffer
Epidemiologist
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Andrew Brown
Clinical informatician
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Arina Tamborska
Epidemiologist
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Becky Smith
Software Developer
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Ben Butler-Cole
Director of Engineering
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Brian MacKenna
Director of NHS Service Analytics
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Caroline Walters
Head of Service Implementation
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Catherine Stables
Lead Product Manager
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Chris Wood
Clinical informatician (Pharmacist)
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Colm Andrews
Data Scientist
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Dave Evans
Consultant Software Developer
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Emma-Jane Morbey
OpenSAFELY Project Support
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Giles Turnbull
Director of Communication (interim)
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Helen Curtis
Researcher
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Hilary Winstanly
PA / Administration
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Iain Dillingham
Software Developer
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Jaidip Gill
Health Data Scientist
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Jon Massey
Data Scientist
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Juliet Underdown
Information Governance Manager
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Klaudia Budniak
Senior Programme Manager
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Liam Hart
Research Administrator
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Lizzie Rafii-Tabar
Senior Programme Manager
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Louis Fisher
Data Scientist
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Lucy Bridges
Software Developer
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Milan Wiedemann
Data Scientist
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Millie Green
Data Scientist
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Nick DeVito
Researcher
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Orla Macdonald
Research Pharmacist
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Pete Stokes
Director of Platform Development
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Peter Inglesby
Software Developer
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Richard Croker
Honorary Research Fellow
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Rose Higgins
Health Data Scientist & NICE Collaboration Lead
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Simon Davy
Senior Research Software Engineer
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Steve Maude
Software Developer
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Thomas O'Dwyer
Software Developer
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Tom Ward
Senior Research Software Engineer
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Vicky Speed
Clinical informatician
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Viveck Kingsley
Health Data Scientist
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Will Hulme
Statistical epidemiologist