Profile: Syed Ahmar Shah

Syed Ahmar Shah is a Chancellor's Fellow based at the Usher Institute, currently pursuing projects in both asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

My area of expertise is in the use of data-driven technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning to improve healthcare. I am particularly interested in improving the management of chronic conditions. In the UK, we have access to some of the largest healthcare datasets and this allows us find insightful patterns. This new knowledge can then help us create tools that are clinically useful, such as identifying preventable risk factors to aid prevention, and improving clinical decisions to aid early diagnosis and better prognosis.

The Chancellor's fellowship gave me protected time to focus on my vision, and provided me access to excellent mentorship to help me navigate in my academic career.  It’s a wonderful opportunity and worth applying to help you transition from a postdoctoral position to an independent position. You will get protected time, access to resources and access to world-class mentorship.

Edinburgh is a very beautiful city and still substantially more affordable than the likes of Oxford, London or Cambridge. I was in Oxford for 11 years before moving to Edinburgh. I have now been here for four years and I'm pleasantly surprised how happy I am to have made this transition. Like Oxford, Edinburgh has a very rich history and it is still relatively small for a capital. It offers a lot more options for a family: more green spaces, hills, its own beach, its own airport. In short, it’s a great city to live. 

The Chancellor's fellowship scheme is fantastic for early career researchers, helping them transition to independence and form their own group.