Big Data Institute

Thomas Nichols, Professor of Neuroimaging Statistics at Oxford Population Health, has been named a 2026 Fellow of the Organization for Human Brain Mapping (OHBM) for his leadership in the field of brain imaging research over more than 20 years. OHBM is an international society dedicated to advancing the study of the human brain through the use of neuroimaging.

A new study by researchers at the Big Data Institute shows that how close people live to unsafe water sources strongly predicts their exposure to schistosomiasis, a debilitating waterborne parasitic disease, helping to explain patterns of infection and re-infection. The study is published in Nature Health.

The Academy of Medical Sciences has elected four University of Oxford biomedical and health scientists to its fellowship in 2026, including Professor Nicola Whiffin, who is based in the Big Data Institute. The new Fellows have been elected to the Academy in recognition of their outstanding contributions to advancing medical science, through discovery research, translational work and the application of scientific knowledge in ways that deliver tangible benefits for patients and the wider public.

Senior Clinical Researcher at Oxford Population Health and honorary member of the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Oxford, Dr Anya Topiwala, has been awarded the 2026 Impact Prize by the Society for the Study of Addiction (SSA). The prize, announced on 12 May, recognises people and teams whose research in the field of addiction has had a significant real-world impact.

Cognitive problems such as memory loss or difficulty concentrating, known as 'brain fog', may not predict relapse in depression according to a new study involving researchers from Oxford Population Health. The study is published in BMJ Mental Health. The researchers studied data from 1,800 UK Biobank participants who had previously had an episode of depression. Participants were matched for age and sex with a control group .

Professor Trey Idekerhas been appointed as the new Director of the University of Oxford’s Big Data Institute (BDI). He will take up the role by Juneand continue to advance the institute’s mission to drive transformative research into the causes, consequences, prevention and treatment of disease.

Deirdre Hollingsworth, Professor of Infectious Disease Epidemiology at the Big Data Institute, is one of 12 Oxford academics who have been appointed to the Academy for the Mathematical Sciences’ inaugural cohort of Fellows, which will bring together the UK’s strongest mathematicians across academia, education, business, industry, and government to help solve some of the UK’s biggest challenges.

A large observational study by researchers at Oxford Population Health and the Department of Psychiatry has found no evidence that cannabis use contributes to cognitive decline in later life, or that it increases the risk of dementia. The findings are published in BMJ Mental Health. Cannabis is the most widely used illicit substance globally, with use increasing significantly among older adults in recent years, largely driven by its legalisation for medical and recreational use in many countries.

How Accurate Are Your Fitness Trackers? Activity trackers offer exciting opportunities to better understand health and disease. However, their accuracy can vary — sensors may overestimate activity levels or misclassify sleep stages. This study aims to evaluate how well researchers can measure sleep patterns, physical activity, and heart rate using data collected from wearable sensors in real-life conditions. Participants wanted —What does the study involve?

Researchers from the University of Oxford have benchmarked artificial intelligence (AI) tools capable of automatically removing personal information from patient electronic health records (EHRs) in a key step towards enabling large-scale, confidential medical research. As healthcare becomes digitised, the wealth of information stored in millions of electronic health records (EHRs) is providing a valuable resource.