For our latest OL Spotlight we're delighted to feature Dr Francesca Dakin (2014), who is a Senior Digital Health Researcher and Mildred Blaxter Fellow at the University of Oxford. She also holds a Junior Research Fellowship at the Centre for Personalised Medicine at St Anne’s College. Having recently completed her DPhil (Oxford’s version of a PhD) in Medical Sciences, Francesca continues to conduct research on health technologies and healthcare improvement in the NHS.

Q1. What initially drew you towards medical science?

"I never planned to go into healthcare research - I have always just followed what interested me. That began with an undergraduate in Archaeology & Anthropology at University College London - which is very far in topic from what I do now, but taught me foundational critical thinking and methodological skills for studying people.

I became interested in digital healthcare whilst working in a cancer research charity in Australia after my undergrad, where I spent time supporting their remote group therapy clinics. Following that, I got my Master’s in Social Anthropology at Cambridge (supported by the Isaac Newton Fund), where I learned a bit more about the social science of medical research - alongside lots of other things!

I then had the opportunity to apply that to real-world healthcare research as a member of research staff at Cambridge. Seeing that I could combine research interest with meaningful change, I decided this was the career for me.

To have a research career in medical or health sciences, you need a PhD! I was fortunate to be accepted to study under a fantastic academic and clinician, Professor Trish Greenhalgh, and to be funded by the NIHR School for Primary Care Research.

To me, it was a combination of getting lucky, and having the support of key people at the right times."

Q2. Tell us more about your DPhil?

"My DPhil (that’s an Oxford PhD), was a multi-sited ethnographic case study of the digitalisation of UK general practice.

That meant I went around a few different GP practices, spending time seeing how each team worked day-to-day, interviewing members of staff, having focus groups, and reviewing literature to understand how new technologies introduced into GP practices had impacted on staff and patients.

Broadly, I found that whilst these technologies have the potential to make things run more smoothly, their implementation was so fraught that they have actually introduced a lot of inefficiencies and relational problems for staff. They have also created new barriers to access for lots of patients, whilst making it comparatively easier for others - increasing inequity of access for those most in need.

Most of this work has now been published in academic journals, and presented back to policymakers, patients, and GP staff."

Q3. What does it mean to be a Mildred Blaxter Fellow?

"There are two ways to be funded in my kind of research: grants and fellowships. Grants fund a project, and are focused on the deliverables of the research rather than the researchers doing the work - beyond ensuring the team is appropriately skilled to deliver the work!

Fellowships fund the individual, and are generally geared towards developing future research leaders whilst they conduct research in their area of interest. The Mildred Blaxter Fellowship is administered by the Foundation for the Sociology of Health and Illness to promising early-career researchers. The idea behind it is to provide a one-year runway for us to develop applications for larger fellowships from bigger funders, whose fellowships are for longer periods (2-5 years).

It’s fantastic to hold this Fellowship - it gives you the confidence in your own work and potential, and supports you in a very material way to leverage a critical period in one’s research career into a leadership trajectory."

Q4. What would you say is the best aspect of your career?

"The people! I’ve always placed a lot of value on working with people that care about what they do. Everyone in my group (Interdisciplinary Research in Healthcare - IRIHS) is driven by a desire to improve our healthcare system.

In my wider department, all of our work is geared towards improving the health of people in the UK (and beyond) in one way or another. It’s easy to be inspired in a place like this.

We also have a lot of fun here - there are endless dinners, balls, writing retreats, and lots of sports to be involved with through the university. A research career is quite flexible, so there’s space to be a full person within and around work."

Q5. What’s next for you?

"I’ve just been made Senior Research here at Oxford, so hopefully staying put for a bit!

In terms of my research, for now, I’m most focused on AI-enabled access and triage in UK general practice. Beyond that, I’m contributing to other projects on remote primary care, virtual hospices, and remote monitoring devices for rural-remote populations.

I also teach and supervise Master’s and DPhil students, and support as many potential PhDs as I can. I’ve always thought it important to hold the ladder for others coming after me where possible - because I wouldn’t be where I am without the support of others."

Q6. What advice would you give to current Lorettonians?

"Follow what interests you - you’ll be amazed at the variety of available careers.

Secondary school can be a stressful time, and it can feel like you’re making decisions that dictate the rest of your life or reduce your future options. Really, the scariest thing about life is that the options are limitless. So, if you find a pathway you’re interested in and keep putting in the work, you’ll surprise yourself with where you end up. That is especially true for young adults educated in a school like Loretto, wherein students are afforded a lot of support (visible and invisible) that others might not have access to. It’s important to be reflexive about that positionality and, if you can, channel it into something meaningful."

Francesca’s time at Loretto

"A lasting impact from my time at school are the friends I made. We all see each other whenever we're back in Edinburgh. It's been amazing to watch everyone’s lives develop over these past 10-ish years."

Future OL Spotlights

To be featured yourself or to nominate someone else, please get in touch at society@loretto.com