Five Minute Profile: interview with Linus Chirchir

What’s your role at RDS and what does a typical workday involve? 

As a Data Analyst at Research Data Scotland (RDS), my role involves preparing ADR Scotland datasets for ingest into Scotland’s National Safe Haven. The ingest process involves standardised steps including data cleaning, splitting personal data from research data, encryption, quality assessment, documentation, and sending the research data to the National Safe Haven for secure storage.  

A typical workday for me involves developing and maintaining R scripts, documenting workflows and designing innovative data services for public good. I do this in collaboration with colleagues across teams including data analysts, information governance experts, project managers and external stakeholders. 

What’s your background and how does it give you additional insight into your work at RDS? 

Before coming to the UK, I worked as an ICT Officer at Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Kenya. In that role, I managed an integrated healthcare management information system and carried out some research and data analytics. 

After completing my master’s degree in Health Data Science at Swansea University in 2023, I worked as a Health Data Analyst at the University of Edinburgh. In this role, I cleaned, linked and consolidated data on over 13,000 hip and knee surgeries into a unified dataset. To improve data accessibility and analytics, I developed a shiny dashboard that provided valuable insights and increased data-driven decision making at the Department of Orthopaedics and Trauma at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh. 

These experiences gave me a deep understanding of data management, protection, and ethical use of data for research in the UK. At RDS, I apply my knowledge and skills to ensure that administrative datasets are well curated to enable evidence-based research.  

What’s a highlight and a challenge of your role? 

The welcoming and collaborative environment at RDS makes working with colleagues across disciplines an enriching experience. Their friendly and supportive nature fosters innovation and continuous learning. 

One of the highlights of my role at RDS is the opportunity to apply technical expertise, statistical knowledge and critical thinking to real-world datasets that drive impactful data-driven research and inform policy decisions. I take great satisfaction from preparing data to make it useful for approved research in the secure National Safe Haven.  

Working with large and complex administrative datasets needs up-to-date knowledge of methodologies and information governance best practices. In my role, I am continuously improving the data processing workflows to ensure efficiency and most importantly compliance. 

What difference do you hope RDS will make? 

My hope is RDS will continue to guarantee and scale safe, secure, and ethical access to robust and reliable datasets for the research community. This will ultimately enable evidence-based approaches that tackle complex societal challenges. There is no doubt that by simplifying data access and refining the data processing activities required, RDS can significantly contribute to groundbreaking research that enhances public health outcomes, policy innovation and economic sustainability. 

What would be your "Mastermind" specialist subject? 

Olympic Marathon Champions (1960 - 2024). 

Who, real-life or public figure, has inspired or motivated you in your career or life?   

I have always been inspired by Hans Rosling, a renowned Swedish physician, statistician and public health specialist. His ability to illuminate facts and trends in a compelling and engaging way reshaped how I approach storytelling with data. He made me realise that data is not just about numbers, but a lens through which we can better understand the world and drive meaningful change. 

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received? 

Some of the best pieces of advice I’ve ever received was to stay curious and keep learning. And this is never truer than in the ever-evolving field of data science. This is well captured by the Greek philosopher Heraclitus quote “Change is the only constant in life”. This advice has pushed me to continuously learn and develop my skillset, to keep an open mind to different perspectives and to embrace change not as a challenge but as an opportunity for growth. These factors have been instrumental in my career growth over the years.