Two members of the ADR Wales team have been recognised for their pioneering work shaping the study of population data in the UK.
ADR Wales Director Professor David Ford and senior Welsh Government team member Sarah Lowe, have been awarded an OBE and MBE respectively, in recognition of their work in data research.
Professor David Ford is a professor of informatics and director of Population Data Science at Swansea University Medical School and co-director of ADR Wales. Professor Ford’s work has transformed the ethical and secure use of data for the public good, both in the UK and globally, enabling interdisciplinary research at the intersection of health and social sciences.
Professor Ford is the co-founder and director of the Secure Anonymised Information Linkage (SAIL) Databank, and the Secure e-Research Platform (SeRP), which contains billions of person-based records. SAIL has become a trusted population databank, improving lives by providing researchers with secure, linkable and anonymised data. In 2024 the contribution of the SAIL Databank to the harnessing of public data to improve population health and wellbeing led to Swansea University being awarded a prestigious Queen’s Anniversary Prize.
Sarah Lowe has been appointed MBE in the King’s Birthday Honours list in recognition of her service to data research. Sarah, a senior member in the ADR Wales team in Welsh Government, has helped to transform the way researchers access the UK’s wealth of public sector data to enable better informed policy decisions that improve and save lives.
Sarah led the Welsh Government programme to maximise the use of existing data from 2009 to 2018, succeeding in acquiring several rounds of ESRC funding to deliver policy-related data linking projects for Wales. Sarah’s pioneering vision has been instrumental in the formation of the ADR Wales partnership, bringing together government and academia within one team.
Congratulations David and Sarah, the ADR Wales team are extremely proud of your achievements and grateful for the data driven paths that you have laid.