Who shapes the data and the questions asked? Making collaborative change in biomedical data science

Who is missing from the data and who is missing from the room when we decide what it means? In this presentation, Jessica Shilton (University of Leeds) and Eva Caamaño Gutiérrez (University of Liverpool) explore how the people, structures and cultures of biomedical data science shape research questions, evidence and impact. Drawing on the MRC Biomedical Data Science Leadership Awards, with examples from PROMOTE and BIOMEDASA, the slides connect diversity in data with diversity in the professionals who generate, analyse and interpret it. The presentation examines barriers to skills development and participation, from unequal access to digital learning in schools to fragmented career pathways, resourcing and recognition. It also highlights how bringing data expertise into research teams through shared research facilities can strengthen collaboration, improve research quality and safeguard integrity. For researchers, clinicians, data professionals, educators, research leaders and funders, these slides offer a practical provocation: as AI and data-driven approaches expand, how can we ensure that innovation reduces inequality rather than amplifies it?