Antonella Delmestri
PhD
Associate Professor of Health Data Science
- EMA-led DARWIN EU® initiative PI data partner
- EHDEN UK data science technical lead
- OHDSI OMOP common data model specialist
- Alan Turing Alumnus
- CPRD fob holder for NDORMS
I lead a Data Science group, responsible for the modelling and standardisation of real-world data (RWD) routinely collected by GPs, hospitals and registries, and used in observational research to produce clinical evidence. I am a collaborator of EMA-led DARWIN® EU initiative, EHDEN, OHDSI, and an expert in the OMOP common data model. I am an Alan Turing Alumnus and I serve as member of the Turing Research Ethics (TREx) panel.
My research is focussed on:
- assessment, evaluation and curation of RWD
- impact of RWD quality on medical research output
- modelling and standardisation of RWD
- measures of similarity/distance between RWD and their standardised versions
- measurement and enhancement of algorithmic complexity in the context of RWD engineering
- research ethics, research quality, reproducibility, consistency and transparency
BIOGRAPHY
I graduated in Computer Science at the University of Udine and completed my PhD in Information and Communication Technologies at the University of Trento (Italy). I have worked for several years for companies developing firmware and software for electronic devices.
In 2006 I moved to the U.K. to join the Clinical Trial Service Unit (CTSU) at Oxford University. In 2013 I joined NDORMS to work in observational research. In 2018 I joined the European Health Data and Evidence Network (EHDEN) collaboration and in 2019 I started leading the OHDSI UK Data Science technical activities. Between 2021-24 I was a Fellow at the Alan Turing Institute. Since 2022 I am a PI Data Partner in the EMA-led DARWIN® EU initiative.
Recent publications
Association between SARS-CoV-2 and diabetes: A population-based cohort study using the UK CPRD GOLD database.
Journal article
Spivakovsky P. et al, (2026), J Diabetes Metab Disord, 25
Characterising intra-articular corticosteroid injections use in UK primary care: a retrospective cohort study between 2005 and 2020
Journal article
Samuels F. et al, (2026), Rheumatology Advances in Practice
DrugUtilisation: An R Package to Support Drug Utilisation Research Using the OMOP Common Data Model.
Journal article
Guo Y. et al, (2026), Pharmacoepidemiol Drug Saf, 35
Prescription cascades associated with acetylcholinesterase inhibitors use: a high-throughput sequence symmetry analysis
Journal article
Newby D. et al, (2026), Age and Ageing
Venous and arterial thromboembolic events after COVID-19 during the Omicron period in three European countries.
Journal article
Li X. et al, (2026), Sci Rep
CohortCharacteristics: an R package for population characterisation in observational studies using the OMOP common data model.
Journal article
Du M. et al, (2026), Eur J Epidemiol
Incidence and survival of head and neck cancers in the United Kingdom 2000-2021.
Journal article
Miquel-Dominguez A. et al, (2026), Cancer Epidemiol, 101
Comorbidities, medication use, and overall survival in eight cancers: a multinational cohort study of 1.7 million patients across Europe.
Journal article
López-Sánchez I. et al, (2026), Lancet Reg Health Eur, 63