An Associate Professor in Health Data Science at the Center for Health Engineering at Mines Saint-Étienne, Benjamin Dalmas won the Young Researcher Award as part of the 2020 Printemps des Talents. This event, supported by the City of Clermont-Ferrand, highlights local talent.
Benjamin speaks with us about this event, his participation, his award, and his research project:
What is the Printemps des Talents?
“The Printemps des Talents is a collective initiative launched by the City of Clermont-Ferrand with various partners to boost local talent. The goal of this collaboration is to provide daily support to entrepreneurs in Clermont-Ferrand across all sectors.
A ‘Talent Club’ has been formed, bringing together all the year’s talents and promoting the exchange of experiences and success stories.”
Why did you participate?
“The Printemps des Talents is part of an effort to ensure every initiative benefits from a more global and transdisciplinary synergy. When I joined the talent club, I was conducting my research in Auvergne. Being recognized and supported by local stakeholders is an asset for further disseminating results and reaching a wide audience. Working in the health sector, it is crucial that various stakeholders are aware of the progress and new knowledge they could benefit from.”
What does receiving the 2020 Young Researcher Award mean to you?
“Receiving the Young Researcher Award is recognition on two levels. From a personal perspective, it rewards the time and energy spent on the research presented during the competition. From a more collective standpoint, I believe this award sends an important message. It rewards the duty researchers have to disseminate and popularize their work. Today more than ever, it is essential that research is no longer detached from society. To achieve this, we must share knowledge and include citizens in this process, which is primarily done through popularization. This is what I strive to do daily, notably through the association and the journal DECODER that I co-created two years ago: http://journal-decoder.fr”
What is your research project?
“Generally speaking, my work focuses on two themes:
- Understanding health data and its meaning, from generation to storage,
- Developing new algorithmic approaches to extract the most relevant information.
The goal is to provide generic analytical frameworks that healthcare stakeholders can use to improve their practices or patient journeys.”
What’s next?
“The healthcare field is constantly changing; with the use of new technologies, healthcare facilities are becoming more connected, and patients are increasingly taking an active role in their health journey. Since this data and the feedback from those who generated it are gold mines, we must continue to include these various stakeholders through initiatives like participatory science. I believe this is a major direction to take if we want to ensure broader and faster adoption of the changes we bring to the daily lives of patients and healthcare staff.”
