OPTIMAL research project - University of Birmingham

As the ageing population increases, larger numbers of older people will experience multiple long-term conditions which require medical treatment. A better understanding of how to manage these conditions with the best combination of medical treatments will help older people to manage their symptoms more effectively and improve their quality of life.

OPTIMAL project | University of Birmingham

In this video, made in partnership with the OPTIMAL Patient Advisory Group, you’ll hear about the work of OPTIMAL, and how it will benefit patients with multiple long-term conditions.

Meet our team

Who makes up our team

Our team includes patients, public members, and world leading experts from three universities with expertise in biology, AI, medicine, health service research, public health, and general practice.

Team members

University of Birmingham / University Hospitals Birmingham

Professor Thomas Jackson - OPTIMAL Lead Applicant
Professor Krishnarajah Nirantharakumar - OPTIMAL Joint Lead Applicant
Dr Aditya Acharya – Research Fellow
Dr Marco Canducci – Computer Science Research Fellow
Dr Jenny Cooper – Academic Clinical Fellow
Dr Francesca Crowe - Lecturer in Epidemiology and Health Informatics
Professor Alastair Denniston - Consultant Ophthalmologist & Director of INSIGHT
Dr Sarah Flanagan – Research Fellow
Dr Suzy Gallier - Head of Informatics Research & Commercial Development
Professor Georgios Gkoutos - Chair of Clinical Bioinformatics
Mr Krishna Gokhale – Health Informatics Research Fellow
Dr Tiffany Gooden – Research Fellow
Professor Sheila Greenfield – Professor of Medical Sociology
Dr Shamil Haroon – Clinical Senior Lecturer
Dr Ellie Hathaway – Academic Clinical Lecturer
Professor Louise Jackson – Professor of Health Economics and Health Policy
Bob Jasper – Patient Co-applicant
Dr Max Little – Senior Lecturer
Professor Janet Lord CBE – Professor of Immune Cell Biology
Professor Tom Marshall – Professor of Public Health & Primary Care
Christine Michael – Patient Co-applicant
Professor Elizabeth Sapey – Head of School of Medical Sciences
Professor Peter Tino – Professor of Complex & Adaptive Systems
Steven Wambua – PhD student

University of Oxford:

Professor Christopher Yau – Professor of Artificial Intelligence
Dr Charles Gadd – Research Associate
Dr Kaspar Martens – Research Fellow

University of St Andrews:

Professor Colin McCowan – Professor in Health Data Science
Dr Amaya Azcoaga-Lorenzo - Honorary Senior Lecturer
Luciana Rocha Pedro – Research Fellow
Muhammad Usman – Research Fellow

NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde:

Dr Chris Sainsbury – Consultant Physician, Diabetes & Endocrinology

MHRA CPRD:

Dr Tim Williams – Head of Interventional Research
Dr Puja Myles – Director of CPRD

Patient Advisory Group:

Our patient advisory group (PAG) consists of our 2 public co-applicants, plus 6 people with a range of diverse lived experiences of multiple long-term conditions, either managing their own conditions or supporting someone they are close to. Our PAG influences how the research is carried out across all work packages.

Frequently Asked Questions

How will this work impact on patients in the future?

We hope that this work will mean that patients with multiple long-term conditions in the future receive the best possible combination of medical treatments.

How have you involved patients and members of the public in the design of this programme?

Two Patient/Public partners have been involved with the development of the OPTIMAL programme from the application stage. Both partners attend regular management, executive and data meetings, as well as a Patient Advisory Group.

Who is funding the research?

This project is funded by the National Institute for Health & Care Research (NIHR) under its Programme Artificial Intelligence for Multiple and Long-Term Conditions (NIHR202632). The views expressed are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the NIHR or the Department of Health and Social Care.

The OPTIMAL programme has received just under £2.5m in funding from the NIHR and will run until April 2025.

For further information

Useful links

Contact us

Public Involvement & Engagement enquiries: Leah Fitzsimmons (l.fitzsimmons@bham.ac.uk)

Any other enquiries – optimal@contacts.bham.ac.uk