About Us

Professor Cathie Sudlow - Principal Investigator 

Professor Cathie Sudlow is a neurologist and clinical epidemiologist based at the University of Edinburgh and the Director of Generation Scotland. She is also Chief Scientist and Deputy Director of Health Data Research UK (HDR UK), the UK’s national institute for health data science, and is Director of the British Heart Foundation Data Science Centre at HDR UK.

Professor Riccardo Marioni - Co-Principal Investigator 

Riccardo is a co-investigator of GS and Professor of Molecular Epidemiology of Ageing. His group links information from DNA samples and blood markers to better understand the biology that underlies disease and to improve risk prediction.

Professor Heather Whalley - Chief Scientist  

Heather is Professor of Neuroscience and Mental Health at the Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences at the University of Edinburgh. She has an interest in linking neuroimaging data with genetic and environmental risk factors and clinical phenotypes, across and between disorders, to provide a more integrated and mechanistic understanding of mental illness. She has a particular interest in adolescent mental health, links between physical and mental health, the use of AI approaches in psychiatric/neuroimaging research, and integrating neuroimaging data with linked healthcare data. 

Robin Flaig - Chief Operations Officer 

I am Chief Operations Officer, overseeing Generation Scotland’s administration, access, recruitment, finance, HR, communications and engagement.

Anne Richmond - Bioinformatics Analyst

I am a bioinformatics analyst working in both data management and analysis in Generation Scotland. My primary roles involve managing the cohort's large omics resources for other researchers and contributing to analyses for larger consortia. 

Zhuoni Xiao - Research Fellow

I am a postdoctoral researcher working on the 'Loneliness in the Digital World' project, utilising the Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) approach. My role involves designing the study, recruiting participants, and collecting and analysing data. I am particularly interested in exploring the impact of early adversity on lifelong mental health.

Mark Adams -  Senior Bioinformatician

I am a Senior Research Fellow in Psychiatry and oversee the genetics and 'omics data management and bioinformatics analysis for Generation Scotland. 

My research is in large-scale genomic studies of mood disorders. I have a background in theoretical biology and quantitative genetics and have previously studied personality in monkeys and apes, intelligence in dogs, and cooperative behaviour in birds.  

David Buchanan - Data Manager

I am the data manager for Generation Scotland. I help the team with any data-related tasks, and manage day-to-day data for Generation Scotland. 

I have a background in software development and data management, collaborating on several high impact clinical research projects. 

When not working I like playing the guitar and walking my dog, Flash.

Arlene Casey - Principal NLP Data Scientist

Arlene currently has responsibility for the NLP programme within DataLoch where she works closely with IG specialists to understand the privacy risks in clinical free-text and how these can be shared with researchers safely. 

Arlene also works on the AMBER project researching how treatment response to depression can be found in GP records. 

Arlene will share her expertise in both these areas with the GS team to implement algorithms that can support GS work in these areas enhancing the GS data collection.

Megan Calnan- Research Assistant

I am a Research Assistant working on the AMBER study (Antidepressant Medications: Biology, Exposure & Response). My role involves recruiting participants to complete a questionnaire on their experiences with antidepressant treatment for depression, supporting the collection of biological samples for genetic and molecular research, and data analysis to better understand antidepressant treatment response.