This year marks an exciting milestone: 25 years of We The Curious! To celebrate, the science centre hosted a special gathering that brought together collaborators, researchers, funders, and staff to reflect on its history and the […]

Welcoming in the festive season, Romana and Poppy took a lovely visit to the Frome market this weekend! Most excitingly, Romana also got to meet Poppy’s new cat, Goose!

We are excited to share that Poppy has officially launched her first research study for her PhD! Poppy has deployed a survey through Prolific (23rd October), with the aim of understanding how women manage their menstrual […]

On November 18th, Romana attended a webinar hosted by the PSC called: “The Smart Data Survey – What do Consumers Really Want?”. The session focused on the results of a smart data perspectives survey, drawing on […]

The Digital Footprints team has moved building! We are now based in Augustine’s Courtyard, in the heart of the city centre and just a few minutes from the famous Hippodrome. We are looking forward to settling […]

On October 14th 2025, Romana travelled to Cardiff to attend the Generation New Era consultation event. Generation New Era is a new and upcoming cohort study which will be tracking the development and growth of babies […]

On 22 September 2025, Cheng Cheng attended the CDT Student Industry Showcase at the Bristol Museum. The annual event is hosted by the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Cyber Security, which brings together students, supervisors, […]

On September 8th-10th, Romana attended the Society of Longitudinal and Lifecourse Studies conference in Switzerland. The conference welcomed around 300 epidemiologists, social scientists, and longitudinal study custodians, among others, to convene research under the theme of […]

On 5th September, Alisha represented the Digital Footprints Lab at the Future Food Symposium: Perceptions and Actions Towards a Sustainable Diet, as part of British Environmental Psychology Society (BrEPS) 9th Annual Conference in Nottingham. The symposium […]

On September 2nd, Anya joined the Smart Data Research UK panel session “Let’s do good things with data” at the Royal Statistical Society International Conference 2025. Chaired by Gordon Baggott, Chief Data Scientist at Smart Data Foundry, […]

We’re delighted to welcome Cheng Cheng to the lab, who has joined us as a second-year PhD student in the Cyber Security CDT. Cheng has a background in Software Engineering and Cyber Security. Her research focuses […]

We are sad to say goodbye to Martha, our brilliant research administrator. Over her time with us, Martha has been an integral part of the team — keeping projects on track, taking clear and meticulous minutes, […]

What if scientists could see inside your shopping trolley? That’s the question that was sparking curiosity at We The Curious, Bristol’s interactive science centre, where our exhibit invited visitors to explore how everyday choices—like what we […]

On August 13th, Romana delivered an online presentation to 32 students attending the ISC Data Science & Financial Technology programme. She introduced the concept of loyalty card data science, illustrating key applications through two example projects […]

On the 12th of June, Anya presented as a part of the expert panel at the invite only event organised by Google (London, UK) to discussed how (and whether it should be at all) Google search […]

We’re excited to share our latest work, published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research, where we discuss how supermarket loyalty card data can be leveraged for population health research and surveillance. In this paper, we […]

Our scoping review is now published! A big thanks to Romana, Alisha and Anya for all their hard work on this one. We explored how supermarket loyalty card data is being used in health research. We reviewed 44 studies […]

We’re excited to share that Martha has successfully secured £300 in funding to support ongoing networking efforts following her participation in the Faculty of Health and Life Sciences Innovation Summit. This funding will be directed towards the Health and Data […]

The 11th Conference of the European Survey Research Association (ESRA) took place from 14th July to 18th July 2025 in Utrecht, The Netherlands. This major conference had over 800 attendees with 10+ sessions running in parallel. […]

Alisha presented our latest research at the Bristol Poverty Institute (BPI) Seedcorn Fund Showcase Event, highlighting the project: Ultra-Processed Foods and Health Inequalities: A Data-Driven Approach to Understanding Socioeconomic Disparities in Diet. The project, led by […]

It’s with mixed emotions that we say goodbye to Laura, one of our brilliant Senior Research Associates, who is moving on to new adventures beyond the lab. The team went out for a farewell brunch last […]

Last week, Anya, Romana, and Alisha travelled to Finland to take part in an exciting two-day international collaboration workshop focused on the use of shopping data in health research. Hosted in Tampere, the event brought together […]

We are delighted to have a paper published this week to the International Journal of Population Data Science, titled “Linking Digital Footprint Data Into Longitudinal Population Studies”. Led by Romana, the paper is based on findings […]

Neo presented at Jean Golding Institute (JGI) Data Week 2025, during the “Gambling Harms Research: Ideas for a Data-driven Research Agenda” session. Neo discussed the use of digital footprints data and linkage with longitudinal population studies […]

Population Health Science Institute (PHSI) Annual Symposium 2025 took place on 4th June, with the theme “From Data to Action: The Impact of Population Health Research in Practice“. Neo presented a poster, showcasing the use of […]

The Lab returns from a fantastic two days at the latest Digital Footprints conference! Hosted at the University of Leeds, the event brought together nearly 100 attendees from academia, government, industry, and third sector organisations, collectively […]

On the 8th of May, we hosted a workshop in collaboration with Bristol Population Health Science Institute to explore how supermarket loyalty card data can support research into cancer and chronic disease prevention. Co-organised by Alisha […]

On the 23rd of April, Anya presented the lab’s work on shopping data linkage and acceptability as well as recent key examples at the Oxford Big Data Institute Digital Phenotype seminars. There were loads of interesting […]

On April 23rd, Romana, Alisha, and Neo attended the British Feeding and Drinking Group (BFDG) Early Career Researcher (ECR) event. The event brought together ECRs from across the UK and beyond, with around 30 attendees working […]

On April 10th, Romana presented at the second workshop for the Health Data Research Network (HDRN), in Bristol. The event welcomed around 25 attendees from across the university and beyond to discuss best practices in working […]

Alisha presented findings from her PhD at the UK Society for Behavioural Medicine Annual Scientific Meeting 2025, held in Bristol. The conference brought together researchers, practitioners, and clinicians working at the intersection of behavioural science and […]

On March 27th, Romana, Poppy, and Anya attended the Women in Data flagship in London. There were 3500 attendees at the event, and the day was comprised of main stage talks, focused workshops, interactive panels, and […]

Last week, Poppy gave a presentation about her PhD at the University of Oxford. She spent the day with the Pain in Women research group which is led by Professor Katy Vincent, and part of the […]

We’re happy to announce that the Digital Footprints Lab has received a grant of £413,085 which is supported through the Smart Data Research UK/Economic and Social Research Council for their project ‘An acceptability and governance foundation […]

At the University of Bristol’s Digital Footprints Lab, we are uncovering the hidden potential of supermarket loyalty card data. Traditionally leveraged for marketing, this data holds significant promise for public health research—providing insights into dietary habits, […]

Earlier this week, Poppy took part in a panel event on period poverty for International Women’s Day at the University of Bristol’s Student Union. Period poverty is defined as a lack of access to the materials, […]

This week we are excited to welcome Martha Burford, who is starting her new role in the lab! 🎉 With her previous administrative experience at the University of Bristol, she’ll be a fantastic addition to the […]

On Wednesday we successfully launched the Health Data Science (HeDS) Group at Bristol Medical School. The event took place at Oakfield House, where 25 attendees gathered to introduce themselves, network, and discuss ideas for the future […]

The Digital Footprints Lab (DFL) is pleased to announce plans for a workshop to be held in summer 2025 at Tampere, Finland, in collaboration with Tampere University and the University of Helsinki. This event is made […]

We are thrilled to announce that Alisha has secured a £500 funding award from the Population Health Science Institute to host an interdisciplinary networking workshop. This workshop, hosted by the Digital Footprints Lab at the University of […]

We are delighted to announce that Alisha has secured a Seedcorn Funding (2024-25) award of £6,260 from the Bristol Population Initiative (BPI) for her project ‘Ultra-Processed Foods and Health Inequalities: A Data-Driven Approach to Understanding Socioeconomic […]

Neo has secured a £61k Flexible mobility award from Consumer Lab, which is one of the Innovation Hubs at the University of Bristol, focusing on dietary choices and health data science. Partnering with N/LAB at the […]

On November 25th-27th, Romana, Alisha, and Poppy attended the IEU retreat at Cumberland Lodge (in Windsor), an event which allowed attendees to build connections and learn new research skills. The retreat started off with an exciting […]

This week, Romana and Laura both achieved their ONS (Office for National Statistics) Accreditation—an exciting accomplishment for them and the Digital Footprints Lab! 🎉 The certification—which provided essential training on securely accessing and handling sensitive datasets—will […]

On November 20th, we attended an event at The Alan Turing Institute: Private Data for Public Good: How Data Sharing Benefits Business and Society which was organised through the Novel Data Linkages for Health and Wellbeing […]

  Are you interested in researching the links between diet, ultra-processed foods, and cancer? We’re excited to announce a fully-funded PhD opportunity at the Digital Footprints Lab at the University of Bristol. We’re looking for a […]

This week we have Alice James starting her new role in the lab! With a background in health inequalities research and a PhD in Healthcare Sciences, which saw her investigating disparities in cancer outcomes for people […]

On November 8th, we took part in a “Meet the Researchers” after hours event at We The Curious Science Centre, engaging the public in our ongoing exhibition “Shopping Trolley Secrets”. Shopping Trolley Secrets invites the public […]

Six months to the day since Digital Footprints 2024, as we are gearing up for Digital Footprints 2025 hosted by the University of Leeds, we wanted to reflect on the success of the event and our […]

On 17th of October, Anya presented Digital Footprints Lab work at Ministry of Justice to 85 analytical and data science staff. The talk generated a lot of questions and interesting discussion in the end.

This week we have Poppy Chappell starting her new role in the lab! Poppy is joining us as a Research Administrator, bringing 12 years of previous administration experience at the University of Bristol. She will be […]

We’re excited to share that our paper – Harnessing digital footprint data for population health: a discussion on collaboration, challenges and opportunities in the UK – was published yesterday in BMJ Health & Care Informatics! This […]

A couple of our recent outings with the lab!

On September 11th,  over 200 researchers gathered at We The Curious for Jean Golding’s 85th birthday event, celebrating the incredible impact of her work on the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC). Anya spoke […]

Yesterday, Romana travelled to the Palace of Westminster for an Industry in Parliament Trust (IPT) Parliamentary Seminar. The IPT is an independent charity aiming to facilitate engagement between Parliament and UK business, and the seminar aimed […]

Last week we welcomed our new post-doc, Laura Fryer! Having completed her PhD in Astrophysics — investigating the interaction between the Sun and the Earth’s magnetosphere — Laura has spent time developing data management skills in […]

This week we welcome Alisha Suhag, who has just submitted her PhD at the University of Sheffield! She will be applying her epidemiology and psychology background to work on projects relating to the integration of digital […]

Last week, Poppy travelled to Devon for the inaugural 4M Conference at the University of Exeter. More than 150 people joined from academia, healthcare, charity and industry, to learn about the latest research and on-the-ground action […]

We have recently welcomed Sneha Umashankar, who is carrying out her masters dissertation project with the Digital Footprints Lab. Her project will explore the categorisation of shopping data, before carrying out an in-depth analysis of a […]

Earlier this week, Poppy published a new paper in Women’s Reproductive Health together with co-author Alison Greig (Anglia Ruskin University). It uses mixed methods to study young women’s experiences of menstrual health education in English schools. […]

Last week, Poppy travelled to Liverpool for the third annual Menstruation Research Network Conference at Liverpool John Moores University. Having been involved in menstrual research and activism online for several years, it was a great opportunity […]

Last month, we hosted the successful Digital Footprints Conference at the University of Bristol. As we were keen to include the voices of people in the early stages of their careers, we held a panel session […]

Neo and Poppy presented their works on data donation during Jean Golding Institute (JGI) Data Week 2024, firstly as a workshop and secondly as panelist of the “Data for Impact” session.

On the 3rd of April, the team went out to Pizza Workshop on Whiteladies! Vegan burrata was especially praised (although lovely pizza too!)

Last week, Romana attended the AI UK 2024 conference, hosted by the Turing Institute and aiming to showcase innovations in data science and AI. The conference took place over two days, and was held at the […]

On the 22nd of March, Anya presented work on digital health and shopping data at the First Faculty of Public Health AI & Digital Health Interest group. The event was online and attended by 170 participants […]

DFL took part in the Consumer data applications: Causal research in novel linked datasets. The workshop took place on the 21st of March and was organised jointly by two Turing Interest groups: Novel data linkages for […]

On the 14th of March, Anya hosted an online webinar in collaboration with AI UK Fringe, a series of talks hosted by the Turing Institute aiming to share ongoing research in the field of AI. The […]

Yesterday, Poppy presented at the Faculty of Health Sciences Spring Symposium in Bristol, where she shared plans for her PhD on exploring inequalities in managing menstrual symptoms using shopping data. The symposium was attended by 50 people […]

On the 8th of March, Anya presented at the JGI International Women’s Day Seminar. She talked about her path in health data science as well as reflected on difficulties accounted along the way. The event was […]

This week, Romana and Neo have both been awarded a £400 Research Staff Development Fund. For Romana, the fund will enable her to attend two significant Turing events: the Causal Research Workshop and the AI UK […]

Last Thursday, Poppy attended the ‘Management of heavy menstrual bleeding: Women’s voices informing future health research’ event, hosted by The EVIdencE Synthesis and Methodology Group for Women’s Health Research (EVIE) group at UCL.  The day included […]

We worked with We The Curious (WTC) and Woven Films to create a video explaining some aspects of our research with shopping data. Check out a blog by WTC featuring a video with Lizzie Dolan and […]

Anya presented on DFL work at an online ONS Health Data Science Seminars dedicated to Digital Footprints, together with Tim Chico (University of Sheffield) and Will Dixon (University of Manchester). The seminar was attended by 160 […]

Digital Footprints Lab extends a warm invitation for you to join us at the Digital Footprints 2024 conference, taking place at the University of Bristol on May 8th and 9th. Building on the triumph of last […]

Yesterday we had our Christmas dinner 2023 at Muiño Bristol. Also massive congratulations to Dr Romana Burgess for passing her viva!

On November 30th, the Alan Turing Institute hosted the second meeting of the Turing Special Interest Group (SIG) on Novel Data Linkages for Health and Wellbeing, organised by Anya Skatova (University of Bristol) and Michelle Morris […]

On Thursday 26th October, our new PhD student Poppy attended the Faculty of Health Sciences PGR Symposium at Bristol Aerospace. Taking place besides the Concorde, the day began with a keynote lecture from Dr Kaitlin Wade […]

On 25th of October, Anya presented at ClOSURE Data Linkage about our work with ALSPAC and shopping data linkages. She provided overview of the project, linkage update and plan for next steps, including ESRC Data Services […]

On friday the 20th of October, Anya took part in a panel organised by The Royal Statistical Society Data Governance and Ethics Section on International approaches to the legal, governance and ethical challenges of social media […]

This week we have yet another person joining, Romana Burgess has just submitted her PhD in Digital Health and joining the lab to work on shopping data and health projects!

This week we welcome Poppy Taylor who is starting a PhD student with Digital Footprints Lab, co-funded by The Health Foundation. Her PhD will evaluate the utility and acceptability of using a novel health data source […]

We are delighted to announce that the Conference Proceedings for The Digital Footprints ’23 Conference have been published in the International Journal of Population Data Science. The proceedings were compiled by Dr. Anya Skatova, in collaboration […]

An exciting fully funded PhD position has opened up at the Digital Footprints Lab to start in October 2023. The PhD project focuses on the utility of using shopping data to understand female reproductive health. This […]

Chronic pain is a major health issue across the globe. Researchers estimated that at least 10% of the population in the United Kingdom are suffering from pain conditions. If we consider the entire world, some estimated […]

Job Advertisement Post! Are you looking for a job in behavioural data science as a postdoc? Do you want to work with novel approaches to improve public health? Look no further and join Digital Footprints Lab […]

Anya published a paper in Plos One from Value of Personal Data project together with collaborators Rebecca McDonald (University of Birmingham), Sinong Ma (Queens University Belfast) and Carsten Maple (University of Warwick). It uses Willingness to […]