What did you do before starting your DPhil?
I come from a medical background and graduated in Medicine from the University of Oxford in 2020, during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. During my early medical training, I was introduced to coding and data science and immediately became fascinated by its potential to transform healthcare.
Motivated by this, I taught myself to code to a level that allowed me to undertake a Master’s degree in Health Data Science. After completing my MSc, I entered an Academic Clinical Fellowship programme in General Surgery in London, where I split my time between clinical work (75%) and research (25%) — effectively trying to keep up 100% with both!
It was during this time that I developed a strong interest in how data science and wearable technology could be applied to surgery. That curiosity ultimately led me to pursue a DPhil in Cancer Science, combining medicine, technology, and research to improve patient care.
Why did you want to work in Cancer Research?
Cancer forms a large part of a general surgeon’s workload, including conditions affecting the bowel, stomach, oesophagus, pancreas, liver, and breast. Professionally, this meant I was exposed early on to both the complexity and urgency of cancer care. What I find particularly compelling about cancer surgery is that the challenge isn’t just removing the tumour — it’s ensuring patients survive major surgery and recover with the best possible quality of life.
Alongside this professional motivation, I also have a deeply personal one. My mum underwent two major cancer surgeries just four weeks apart during the COVID-19 pandemic. At the time, I was working on COVID wards in a different city and couldn’t go home to support her, which made an already difficult experience even harder. Despite this, she showed extraordinary physical and mental resilience and is now more than four years cancer-free.
My mum has always stayed active, and I truly believe that helped her through treatment and recovery. Just nine months after her second surgery, she completed a 10-kilometre swim — an incredible achievement for anyone. Her experience inspired me to explore how physical activity and fitness can support patients through the cancer journey, particularly when major surgery is involved, and how we can better empower patients with the right tools and information.
What attracted you to the DPhil in Cancer Science with Oxford Cancer?
One of the biggest draws of the DPhil in Cancer Science was the incredible breadth of projects and skillsets within the programme. Although my own background is in data science — and my days of pipetting in the lab are firmly behind me — I strongly believe that the best research happens through collaboration across disciplines.
I’ve particularly enjoyed the seminar series, where we’re exposed to a wide range of cancer research areas. It’s exciting to see how research that initially feels completely unrelated to my own can spark new ideas or approaches. The programme has also brought together students from diverse, often non-clinical backgrounds, whose work is vital to progress in cancer research. As clinicians, we rely on this foundational research to translate discoveries to patient care, so being trained alongside one another feels both inspiring and rewarding.
Tell us about your DPhil Project.
My DPhil focuses on the use of wearable technology in major abdominal cancer surgery. Currently, patients undergoing surgery for stomach and oesophageal cancers must complete intensive fitness testing beforehand. While essential, these tests are time-consuming, costly, and physically demanding — especially for patients who may have just finished chemotherapy.
Wearable technology has transformed the fitness world, providing easy access to data such as resting heart rate, sleep quality, and estimated VO₂ max. My research aims to explore whether we can use these same technologies in surgical patients to improve pre-operative risk assessment and to detect post-operative complications earlier.
I work in the Big Data Institute within the Nuffield Department of Population Health. It’s a really cool department with a huge variety of research and skillsets. My group alone have computer science, engineering, epidemiology and physiological science backgrounds so there is always something interesting to learn and novel ways to collaborate.
What do you think are the potential implications of this work for patients?
My long-term vision is to help modernise and digitalise surgical care using wearable technology. Over the past decade, wearables have become a normal part of everyday life for millions of people, yet their potential in healthcare — particularly in surgery — remains largely untapped.
Wearables were highlighted in the NHS 10-Year Plan as an important emerging technology, and I’m excited to contribute to making their routine use in clinical care a reality. Ultimately, this work could lead to safer surgery, more personalised care, and better recovery for patients undergoing major cancer operations.
What do you think are the major obstacles for the cancer field to overcome in the next 10 years?
One of the greatest challenges in cancer research is that cancer itself is constantly evolving. From my experience in General Surgery, we’re seeing cancers appear in patient groups that were previously considered low risk — for example, younger individuals with no obvious risk factors — while also managing cancer in older populations as life expectancy increases.
There is a continual race between the evolution of cancer and our ability to understand and treat it. While this presents enormous challenges, it also creates exciting opportunities for innovation. Advances in technology, data science, and interdisciplinary research will be crucial in shaping a future where cancer care is earlier, smarter, and more personalised.
Find out more about the DPhil in Cancer Science on our study pages.
