Tom Drake

ECAT SCREDS Clinical Lecturer

  • Usher Institute
  • Centre for Medical Informatics
  • College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine

Contact details

Address

Street

Centre for Medical Informatics
Usher Institute, Usher Building
The University of Edinburgh
5-7 Little France Road
Edinburgh BioQuarter ‒ Gate 3

City
Edinburgh
Post code
EH16 4UX
Street

Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh

City
Edinburgh
Post code
EH16 4SA

Biography

Background

Tom is an Edinburgh Clinical Academic Track (ECAT) SCREDS Clinical Lecturer and Surgical Trainee in the South East of Scotland. He works jointly across the Usher Institute Centre for Medical Informatics and the Cancer Research UK Scotland Centre.

His research focuses on causal exposomics, the study of how lifetime environmental, lifestyle, and clinical factors interact to cause disease. Rather than looking at correlations, Tom applies causal inference and mechanistic data science to identify the direct, modifiable drivers of illness. By combining this approach with artificial intelligence, translational multi-omics, and linked population-scale health records, he works to turn complex exposure data into actionable targets for cancer prevention, earlier detection, and early intervention.

Summary of Research

  • 1. Causal Exposomics, AI & Early Detection: Genes explain only a small part of why cancer or other diseases develop; the rest is shaped by cumulative lifetime exposures to our environment, diet, medications, and lifestyle. These exposures also interact in a complex way with genes. Traditional studies often struggle to separate true causes from coincidental links. Causal exposomics uses advanced statistics and artificial intelligence to isolate the direct causes of disease. Tom links population-scale health records with environmental datasets to map these exposures, detect early warning signals before tumours form, and identify people at the highest risk. Using this approach we can predict diseases happening far before they produce symptoms or get to an advanced stage. He combines these population models with genomics, high-resolution molecular and tissue profiling to understand how exposures physically alter cells, informing new diagnostic tests and targeted prevention strategies.

  • 2. Clinical Trials & Behaviour Change: Tom designs pragmatic, real-world clinical trials to refine diagnostic pathways and improve care. He sits on the Trial Steering Group for the CLARITY trial, a national study testing behavioural interventions and decision-support tools for clinicians caring for patients with suspected acute appendicitis. Team science is central to this work: Tom co-founded trainee-led collaborative networks, including STARSurg, EuroSurg, and GlobalSurg, which now unite researchers across more than 85 countries to deliver high-impact clinical studies.

  • 3. Health Informatics, Global Surgery & Data Science: Tom analyses large-scale NHS and international datasets to uncover systemic healthcare gaps and make surgery safer. Working with local communities and global partners in the NIHR Global Surgery Unit (GSU), he helps lead studies addressing worldwide disparities in surgical survival and recovery after cancer surgery. During the COVID-19 pandemic, as part of the ISARIC4C consortium, he analysed real-time hospital records to deliver rapid evidence directly to the UK Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) to guide national policy. This work has been widely reported by international news outlets, including the BBC, ITV, Sky News, and Reuters.

 

Research Funding

  • Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)
  • Beatson Cancer Charity
  • Cancer Research UK
  • Tenovus
  • Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh
  • Translational Industry Partnerships

Qualifications

  • Membership of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (MRCS), 2024
  • Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), University of Glasgow, 2023 - Cheine Medal (Edinburgh) and Best PhD prize (Glasgow)
  • Bachelors of Medicine and Surgery (MBChB), University of Sheffield, 2016
  • Bachelors of Medical Science (BMedSci), University of Sheffield, 2013

Responsibilities & affiliations

  • Honorary Clinical Lecturer, School of Cancer Sciences, University of Glasgow
  • Course Tutor, HealthyR - R for healthcare data science
  • Academic Surgery Module BMedSci in Surgical Sciences
  • Edinburgh Surgery Online Masters Statistics Tutor
  • Peer review for MRC, ESPRC, STFC, NIHR (HTA, HSDR, RfPB), International Alliance for Cancer Early Detection and Cancer Research UK funding panels
  • Peer review for Lancet family, the BMJ, Annals of Surgery, British Journal of Surgery, British Journal of Cancer, PloS Medicine and HPB journals
  • Editor, Cochrane Collaboration

A full publication list can be found here: https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=jPThi00AAAAJ

 

This article was published on