NHS Blood and Transplant celebrated International Women in Maths Day on May 12 by highlighting that most members of the statistics team who work on the life-saving research and modelling that underpins organ, stem cell and blood donation are female.
Out of the 34 members of the NHSBT Statistics team based at Stoke Gifford, 27 are female. In contrast, according to the campaign group Stem Women, only around a third of people enrolling to higher courses in mathematical sciences are female.
The work of the NHSBT statistics team is crucial because there are not enough donated blood, organs and stem cells of the types needed. Improvements which make the best use of limited resources rely on good data and analytical evidence.
Rachel Johnson, NHSBT Assistant Director for Statistics & Clinical Research, said: “I am really proud of the difference that the Statistics Team makes for our donors and patients in NHS Blood and Transplant. Turning raw data into important insights, models and algorithms that optimise donor and patient care is really rewarding and I would encourage anyone with an interest in maths and statistics to consider a career in the NHS.”
Team members include Dr Rosie Brown, senior statistician, who has a BSc in Mathematics and Statistics and a PhD in using data to look at GP appointments and heart patients. She said: “One of the most common responses when I talk to students about being a statistician at NHSBT is, ‘I didn’t know that job even existed.’ I hope that by learning about it, they too might be inspired to consider it as a career. I really enjoy teamwork and problem solving and fortunately a lot of statistics involves all of these. I’m also using my maths skills for good – working in clinical trials means that the treatments we’re testing hopefully will impact patients’ lives for the better.”