Dr Dondo receives prestigious Wellcome Accelerator Award
New scheme supports innovative research on using data linkage to transform child health outcomes
Lead researcher Dr Tatendashe Bernadette Dondo, from the Leeds Institute of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Medicine (LICAMM) and the Leeds Institute for Data Analytics (LIDA), has been awarded funding from the Wellcome Trusts’s new Accelerator Awards scheme in a highly competitive process for early career researchers.
The scheme supports researchers of Black, Bangladeshi and Pakistani heritage in the UK to undertake activities that put them in a stronger position to reach their next career stage.
Linking data to show the whole patient journey
Dr Dondo’s research aims to understand the mental health burden on children who survived an admission to paediatric intensive care. Her work focuses on linked and routinely collected big data that captures the “whole patient journey” while applying advanced novel causal inference and statistical methodologies to address clinical research questions which will improve patient care and outcomes.
The award will also help establish further collaborations, build a research profile in this space and use that momentum to inform a future programme of research in this area.
Commentating on her award, Dr Dondo said, “I am excited to use my skills to demonstrate the power of linked data in healthcare research in a clinical field of great importance and value.”
Detailed information on the mental health implications for children surviving intensive care in early life has the potential to inform targeted interventions to improve outcomes for the most vulnerable groups of the population. This is important given the NHS long term plan has a strong focus on improving the mental health of the population, preventing a cascade of downstream adverse health outcomes across the life course.
I am excited to use my skills to demonstrating the power of linked data in healthcare research in a clinical field of great importance and value.
The key findings of this work will facilitate development of risk stratification tools and flagging systems within clinical follow-up services aimed at developing more effective and efficient healthcare resources, targeting those with the greatest need.
Career focus and CHORAL
Dr Dondo trained in epidemiology and statistics and undertook her PHD at Leeds, and joined the University’s Women’s Higher Education Network: 100 Black Women Professors NOW Programme, in the 2023 cohort and received close mentorship and allyship which had a stimulating effect.
She explained, “This made me hyper career focussed and I began identifying ways in which I could develop my own niche and areas of interest where I could put my skillset into practice and provide new clinical insights at the same time as taking my next career step.
“The establishment of the Child Health Outcomes Research at Leeds programme known as CHORAL in August 2023 provided the perfect opportunity for me to establish myself in the field of child health outcomes research. I gained the confidence to make this leap into a new field and apply for the newly launched Wellcome Accelerator Award scheme.”
The Wellcome Accelerator award provides a fantastic opportunity and a chance for me to accelerate my career – and navigate the often challenging academic environment in a supportive manner.
The funding of £181,000 Dr Dondo has been awarded can be used for research or research-adjacent activities, such as training, secondments, and networking.
“The Wellcome Accelerator award provides a fantastic opportunity and a chance for me to accelerate my career – and navigate the often challenging academic environment in a supportive manner. It’s also the opportunity to raise the profile of the research and the wider CHORAL research programme – showcasing research excellence in Leeds.”
Learn more about the work of Child Health Outcomes Research at Leeds.
