Our Team
Professor David J Lowe
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Clinical Director of Innovation
Clinical Director, Innovation, University of Glasgow, Emergency Consultant at Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, Glasgow, and Clinical Director for Health Innovation for Scottish Government.
David has extensive experience in creating the infrastructure and conditions needed to transform projects into viable healthcare products. He has led on the development of a wide range of solutions within the digital health space, including Trauma App.
David also established the EmQuire research group, through which he plays a vital role in coordinating and supporting quality improvement, innovation, research and education at the QEUH and its Emergency Department.
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Dr Claire Higgs-McCallum
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Portfolio Manager
Claire holds a PhD in digital health evaluation methods and trial designs that inform product development, optimisation and real-world deployment. Following academic roles, including working as a postdoctoral researcher co-designing, developing and evaluating a self-management app for autoimmune rheumatic disease and serving as a Responsible Innovation Lecturer in Digital Health and Care, Claire transitioned to industry and programme management.
Prior to joining DHVL, Claire was Research and Impact Manager at VC in London. There, she managed Innovation Fellows working across a portfolio of health tech ventures and supported founders in product development and evidence generation.
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Dr Chris McParland
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Patient and Public Involvement and Clinical Engagement Coordinator
Chris is a registered adult nurse with a PhD from the University of Glasgow and a background in Emergency Department care and clinical research nursing. As a mixed-methods researcher, he is skilled in both quantitative and qualitative approaches, with a strong commitment to involving patients and the public throughout the research process. In his role at DHVL, he draws on this experience to design and conduct tailored involvement activities.
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Clea Du Toit
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Clinical Study and Data Coordinator
Before joining the DHVL team, Clea worked with Professor Padmanabhan as a HDRUK-funded research assistant and junior biostatistician at the School of Cardiovascular & Metabolic Health at University of Glasgow. She holds an MSci (Hons) in pharmacology and MSc in precision medicine, both from the University of Glasgow.
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Dr Hartesh Battu
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Senior Innovation Fellow
Hartesh graduated in Medicine from the University of Edinburgh in 2016 in addition to holding an intercalated Bachelor of Medical Science Degree in International Public Health Policy, awarded in 2013. He is a GP and has broad past clinical experience across several specialties including emergency medicine, spinal injuries rehabilitation, paediatrics, and obstetrics and gynaecology.
Hartesh has provided tailored evidence generation strategy advice and refined product-to-market approaches across diverse healthcare specialities – including mental health, women's health, and musculoskeletal care. He also recently served as a sub-investigator in the validation of a novel contactless optical stethoscope which can help to diagnose valvular heart disease.
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Dr Sean Duncan
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Clinical Innovation Fellow
Sean graduated from the University of Newcastle in 2016 and recently completed his professional exams and training in Internal Medicine. He brings more than seven years of clinical experience, both from the UK and New Zealand. Sean is committed to advancing his skills in innovation and research, aiming to play a pivotal role in the development and integration of cutting-edge cancer treatments.
At DHVL, Sean’s primary focus is our RADICAL project, which is using chest x-ray analysis software from qure.ai to detect signs of cancer. The study is a key component of a national initiative aimed at enhancing cancer diagnostic pathways. He currently also focuses on mapping relationships between Genomic, Radiomic and clinical outcomes in a lung cancer cohort in collaboration with Canon Medical.
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Dr Dervla Carroll
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Clinical Innovation Fellow
Dervla qualified as a doctor from St Anne's College, University of Oxford in 2021, earning a BA and BMBCh. She completed Foundation Training within NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde in 2023 and now dedicates clinical time to the respiratory department at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital (QEUH) as part of her role at DHVL.
Dervla has a keen interest in general internal medicine and medical education and is dedicated to advancing patient care. At DHVL, she has been involved in a number of projects evaluating new medical devices within the NHS, including algorithms to detect rare diseases from electronic health records and to interpret chest x-rays within the Emergency Department.
Dervla is presently pursuing an MD at the University of Glasgow with a focus on the evaluation of AI in healthcare.
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Dr Nicola Carmichael
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Clinical Innovation Fellow
Dr Nicola Carmichael is a clinician with a background in Obstetrics and Gynaecology, having held senior (pre-CCT fellow) posts across major Scottish teaching hospitals, where she developed specialist expertise in women’s health, menopause care, and gynaecological ultrasound. Alongside her clinical work, she has undertaken further training in psychiatry, with a particular focus on neurodevelopmental conditions, women’s mental health, and the interface between hormonal and psychological wellbeing.
At the Digital Health Validation Lab, Nicola brings her combined clinical and academic experience to digital health innovation, focusing on user-centred design, simulation-based evidence generation, and the translation of new technologies into real-world clinical impact.
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Dr Elena McKee
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Clinical Innovation Fellow
Elena graduated in Medicine from the University of Edinburgh in 2022 and previously completed an intercalated Bachelor of Medical Sciences (Honours) degree in Anthropology & Sociology of Medicine.
After completing her foundation training within NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde and NHS Lanarkshire in 2024, Elena is now based at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, working within Medicine (Immediate Assessment Unit) and the Department of Infectious Diseases.
Alongside her clinical role and work with DHVL, Elena is also pursuing a Postgraduate Certificate in Health Economics and Health Technology Assessment at the University of Glasgow.
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Dr Qasim Latif
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Clinical Innovation Fellow
Alongside his work with DHVL, Qasim contributes to the delivery of Phase II and III clinical trials for drug and device partners at the University of Glasgow’s Clinical Research Facility and serves on the Operational and Governance Group for the tertiary Hypertension Service.
With broad clinical experience across Emergency Medicine, Surgical Subspecialties, and General Medicine, Qasim holds an appointment as an Honorary Clinical Lecturer at the University of Glasgow School of Medicine.
His professional interests include the application of AI in Clinical Radiology and Renovascular Medicine. Alongside his clinical work, Qasim is committed to widening healthcare access and ensuring that underrepresented populations are meaningfully included in research.
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Dr Sam McInerney
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Innovation Academic Fellow
Sam is a medical oncology registrar at the Beatson Cancer Centre in Glasgow and holds a background in computer science, with a special interest in AI, natural language processing, and large language models.
He is currently working with DHVL as an Innovation Academic Fellow, funded through the Chief Scientist Office (CSO). Sam is involved in projects such as MINCE (Machine Learning Identification of Lung Cancer Evaluation) and HER-MONITORED, which explore the application of AI in cancer care to improve diagnostic pathways and patient outcomes.
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Dr Eve Walker
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Clinical Fellow
Eve is a Clinical Fellow in Sleep and Breathing Support Medicine with NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde and is currently undertaking a postgraduate MD at the University of Glasgow. Her role involves close collaboration with the DHVL Clinical Innovation Fellow cohort, the University’s postgraduate research community, and the West of Scotland Innovation Hub.
Eve's projects include the co-design and evaluation of digital tools to improve access to spirometry (POLARIS) and the assessment of AI-based risk prediction models to enhance data-driven COPD care (DYNAMIC-AI).
Previous Cohort of Clinical Innovation Fellows
Dr Gowsikan Jeyakumar
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Clinical Innovation Fellow
At DHVL, Gowsikan's primary research was conducted in partnership with Qure.ai. His work focused on the Assess the Clinical Effectiveness in Prioritising CT Heads (ACcEPT) project, evaluating the use of artificial intelligence to enhance the prioritisation of non-contrast CT head scans. This project demonstrated how AI can assist radiologists by flagging scans requiring urgent attention, streamlining reporting processes, and improving patient outcomes.
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Dr Maggie Rostron
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Clinical Research Fellow
Maggie graduated with a BSc (Hons) in neuroscience from the University of Glasgow in 2008 before going on to study medicine. She conducted pharmaceutical and intervention trials at Glasgow’s Clinical Research Facility, focusing on cardiovascular health, and conducted COVID-19 research at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital (QEUH). Alongside her research, Maggie serves as a General Internal Medicine Specialist Registrar at QEUH, with a special interest in hypertension and digital health.
At DHVL, Maggie worked on projects including OPTIMA-BP, which aims to look at the use of home blood pressure monitoring with the support of an internet-based educational portal, and a contactless optical stethoscope to assess its ability to detect heart murmurs.
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Dr Stewart Rodney
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Clinical Innovation Fellow
Stewart played a pivotal role in our MIRACLES project, which involved assessing the use of portable low-magnetic-field MRI scanners for acute stroke care in collaboration with Hyperfine. He also worked with Pneumowave to evaluate a wearable chest wall device for collecting respiratory waveform data in toxicology and anaesthetic populations. Additionally, Stewart explored the potential applications of large language models in medicine, further advancing digital health solutions.
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Dr Vijna Boodhoo
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Clinical Innovation Fellow
Dr Vijna Boodhoo graduated in Medicine from the University of Edinburgh. She has completed core surgical training and also brings valuable experience in obstetrics and gynaecology, as well as medical education. Her research interests span women’s and child health, global surgery, and medical innovations, with her current focus on exploring the use of virtual reality in surgical practice.
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Dr Rachel Thomson
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NHS Clinical AI Fellow
Qualifying in Medicine from the University of Glasgow in 2014, Rachel began specialty training in Public Health before completing both her Masters (2017) and PhD (2023). She was appointed as a Clinical Lecturer in Public Health at the University of Glasgow in 2024.
Rachel is currently working with DHVL as a UK NHS Clinical AI Fellow, funded by NHS Education for Scotland. Her project explores the environmental sustainability of AI technologies in healthcare, aiming to support more sustainable and responsible innovation across the sector.
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Dr Jesus Perdomo Lampignano
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NHS Clinical AI Fellow
Jesus holds a degree in Biomedical Sciences from the University of South Florida and gained his medical degree from the University of Aberdeen. He is currently in his third year of Clinical Radiology training.
Jesus is working with DHVL as an NHS Clinical AI Fellow, funded by NHS Education for Scotland, and focuses on post-market surveillance of AI products. With experience in coding and machine learning, he is also working with the University of Glasgow to help integrate AI into the undergraduate medical curriculum.
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