Dr Elinor Laws BSc MBBCh MFPH

Dr Elinor Laws

Department of Inflammation and Ageing
NIHR Academic Clinical Fellow in Public Health

Contact details

Email
e.laws.1@bham.ac.uk
Address
Department of Inflammation and Ageing
College of Medicine and Health
University of Birmingham
Edgbaston
Birmingham
B15 2TT
UK

Dr Elinor Laws is a clinical researcher with the AI and Digital Health Research and Policy group at University Hospitals Birmingham and the University of Birmingham.

The AI and Digital Health group conduct research that seeks to ensure AI technologies are safe, effective and equitable. The group works in collaboration with academic, industry and policy institutions around the world, bringing diverse and interdisciplinary teams together to build best practices that can be translated internationally. Dr Laws is co-lead for the STANDING Together project with Dr Joseph Alderman, Dr Jo Palmer, Dr Xiaoxuan Liu and Professor Alastair Denniston. The STANDING Together project has released recommendations to encourage transparent reporting of health data.

Dr Laws is interested in understanding how we can achieve digital health equity, looking to academic disciplines such as gender studies, politics and modern languages to see how they inform our practice as healthcare scientists.

Qualifications

  • MFPH, Member of the Faculty of Public Health, 2026
  • MBBCh, Cardiff University, 2019
  • BSC (Hons) in Medical Education, Cardiff University, 2017

Biography

Dr Laws studied medicine at Cardiff University School of Medicine, graduating in 2019 with both MBBCh and a BSc (Hons) in Medical Education. She then completed foundation training at University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust before becoming a clinical research fellow with the Ophthalmology, AI, and Digital Health team at University Hospitals Birmingham. She began her post-graduate research studying eye imaging in patients with traumatic brain injury and in 2022 became co-lead of the STANDING Together project.

The STANDING Together project is an international collaboration that developed consensus recommendations to promote transparency in use of healthcare data with a particular focus on the importance of diversity and inclusivity for reducing algorithmic bias. The STANDING Together project aligns to core Public Health principles of addressing health inequality and ensuring equitable access to care which inspired Dr Laws to pursue a career in Public Health.

In 2024, she was awarded an NIHR Academic Clinical Fellowship in Public Health at the University of Birmingham where she continues her research into population health impacts of digital innovation.

Teaching

Research

Dr Laws’ research interests centre around the population health impacts of digital innovation. Her main areas of focus are;

  • How does digital innovation in healthcare impact health inequality?
  • How can we meaningfully involve patients and members of the public within healthcare decision making and delivery, especially relating to digital healthcare innovation?
  • How can existing public health principles be applied to the implementation of AI in healthcare?

Dr Laws looks to understand how academic disciplines like gender studies, politics, modern languages, and social science can inform our practice as healthcare scientists.

Publications

Laws E, Hepschke J, Bin Saliman N. H, Juncu S, Courtie S, Belli T, & Blanch R. J. (2023) Modifications in Macular Perfusion and Neuronal Loss After Acute Traumatic Brain Injury. Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science, 64(4), 35–35. Accessible at: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37115535/

Samuriwo R, Laws E, Webb K, Bullock A. (2020) "I didn't realise they had such a key role." Impact of medical education curriculum change on medical student interactions with nurses: a qualitative exploratory study of student perceptions. Adv Health Sci Educ Theory Pract, 25(1):75-93. Accessible at: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31392511/.

Laws E, Samuriwo R, Webb K, Bullock A. (2019) Emotional socialisation and burnout in medicine and the role of medical educators. Med Educ, 53(4):320–2. Accessible at: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30644119/.