Rebranding and Strategic Direction
Effective 1 May 2025, the domain has been rebranded as the Biostatistics, Modelling, AI and Data Science (B.MAD) domain, reflecting the School’s strategic emphasis on harnessing advanced analytics and artificial intelligence to address complex public health challenges. Associate Professor Mengling Feng, a leading expert in artificial intelligence, has been appointed Domain Leader. This rebranding signals the School’s commitment to strengthening capabilities in data-driven public health research and innovation.
As part of this strategic direction, two flagship initiatives have been launched: the AI for Public Health (AI4PH) programme, led by Associate Professor Feng as Founding Director, and the Centre for Epidemic Research and Modelling (CERM), led by Professor Alex Cook. Together, these initiatives position the School at the forefront of AI-integrated public health research.
AI for Public Health (AI4PH)
Associate Professor Feng has also been appointed to establish and lead the AI for Public Health (AI4PH) programme. He is joined by faculty experts, Dr Swapnil Mishra and Dr Jasper Tromp. To accelerate the programme’s development, the School will expand its academic team by recruiting five to six new faculty members.
AI4PH plays a pivotal role in shaping data-informed population health strategies at scale. It is designed to integrate artificial intelligence with public health policy, health systems, and social care to enhance decision-making, optimise resource allocation, and advance health equity. Drawing on multisectoral data, including health, social, and environmental sources, the programme seeks to deliver predictive, preventative, and personalised public health interventions.
A core priority of AI4PH is to reduce health disparities by ensuring that AI-driven solutions are inclusive, ethical, and responsive to the needs of vulnerable and marginalised communities. Its work sits at the intersection of technology and policy, shaping evidence-based interventions that address systemic public health issues across populations.
Core Pillars of AI4PH
As illustrated in Figure 1, the programme’s strategic priorities are anchored in five core pillars:
- Development of interoperable data infrastructure to support large-scale analytics
- Establishment of ethical, legal, and regulatory frameworks for AI governance
- Rigorous research in AI model development, validation, and implementation
- Capacity building through interdisciplinary training and workforce development
- Equitable deployment of technology to maximise public health impact
Opportunities to join the domain
We have lots of opportunities for quantitative people excited by the prospect of using their skills to make a difference. Prospective job applicants are invited to check out the school’s career page to look for any current vacancies. Prospective PhD students should identify a potential supervisor and scope out a project before applying through the School’s PhD programme. Undergraduates who are looking for internships or research projects such as final year or capstone projects are invited to write to potential supervisors.