Meet the team

• Leon Danon, Director of the Jean Golding Institute

  Leon is a Professor in Infectious Disease Modelling and Data Analytics in the School of Engineering Mathematics and Technology. He has a PhD in Statistical Physics of Complex Networks but has been working on epidemiology of infectious diseases since 2004. His work combines mathematics, data science and AI with an understanding of behavioural and biological drivers of disease spread to solve pressing problems in public health. He is Director of Modelling and Data at the Bristol Vaccine centre working with clinicians, immunologists, and statisticians on the epidemiology of vaccine preventable infections.
• Patricia Holley, Institute Manager

  Patty is the Institute Manager. She oversees the day-to-day operations of the Institute. She coordinates the networking and partnership initiatives, manages resources and fosters collaborations. She also has worked as the Academic Engagement Manager at the Alan Turing Institute, supporting the Turing Interest Groups and an initiative to create new methods in data science and AI (TMCF). Patty has worked in research administration and project management for over 14 years. She grew up in Ecuador and worked in the Galapagos Islands studying Nazca Boobies and Waved albatrosses. She completed a Master’s degree in Biological Sciences at Wake Forest University, North Caroline, USA, where she studied the feeding trajectories of Hawaiian albatrosses during the nesting season.
• Elaine Young, Senior Executive Assistant

  Elaine is responsible for reporting, mapping and promoting the impact activities generated by the Jean Golding Institute and data science research groups across the University of Bristol. Elaine has a background in Administration within the University of Bristol and has a degree in Psychology from the University of Cardiff.
• Emmanouil Tranos - Turing Academic Liasion

  Emmanouil is currently a Turing Fellow and a Professor of Quantitative Human Geography, specialising primarily on the spatial dimensions of the digital economy.
• Conor Houghton, Turing Academic Liaison

  Conor is a Reader in the School of Engineering Mathematics and Technology, interested in linguistics and the brain. Conor is a Turing Fellow and a member of the TReX, the Turing ethics committee.

• James Thomas, Head of Research Engineering

  James is Head of Research Engineering at the Jean Golding Institute. He leads our team of data scientists, AI and research software engineers, including collaborations with researchers and external partners, and the provision of training and support to the research community. His personal interests include urban analytics and transport, including electric micromobility, air quality and the vulnerability of people and infrastructure to the effects of climate change. He brings over ten years of experience working in industry on low-carbon energy and net zero projects for Government and the energy sector, working to use data to inform decision-making and policy interventions.
• Will Chapman, Data Scientist

  Will is a Data Scientist at the JGI. His interests are in applying machine learning to medical datasets and stochastic modelling. He has worked on computer vision pipelines to support clinicians in the early detection of rare types of stroke, collaborating with NHS health trusts to ensure patient privacy is safeguarded. He has a PhD in Experimental Psychology and joined the Jean Golding Institute in 2023.
• Pau Erola, Research Software Engineer

  Pau is a Research Software Engineer at the JGI. He currently leads the software engineering training, sharing his knowledge and fostering best practices in data science. With a diverse background in both Computer Engineering and Biomedical Science, he combines technical skills with a deep understanding of scientific principles. He joined the Institute in August 2024 after 8 years of postdoctoral research experience in genetics and cancer epidemiology.
• Thomas Fearon, Research Software Engineer

  Tom is a Research Software Engineer who has worked across a number of projects in Physics, Bio Engineering and Electrical Engineering. He works supporting researchers with code modernisation, testing, best-practices, optimisation and high-performance computing with a particular focus on general purpose GPU compute. Before joining the University of Bristol, Tom worked on a variety of projects within weather science at the Met Office.
• Evie Grace, Data Scientist

  Evie is a Data Scientist at the JGI. Her interests are in the applications and ethics of computer vision in medical settings, climate informatics, and the pedagogy and communication of data science. She joined the institute in February 2026, coming from an environmental data science background in the Civil Service and the Ecology sector. She holds a Postgraduate Diploma in Environmental Modelling and Data Analysis from the University of Bristol.
• Rita Rasteiro, Research Software Engineer

  Rita is a Research Software Engineer at the JGI. She currently leads the ASK-JGI helpdesk team that provides one day of free, expert support to University staff and doctoral students on topics including data science, AI, and software engineering. She has a diverse academic background and worked on multidisciplinary projects with researchers from a wide range of disciplines, including biology, archaeology, and mathematics. Her expertise spans simulation-based modelling and inference, Bayesian statistics, and research software engineering. Rita holds a PhD in Population Genetics and joined the Institute in 2025.
• Josh Tyler, Data Scientist

  Josh is a Data Scientist at the JGI, joining the team in January 2026. He is driven by the "why and how" of data science, focusing on the underlying mechanics of problem-solving rather than being tied to a single domain. He works across all disciplines, enjoying the challenge of applying simulation and modelling to new subject areas. He brings versatile experience from the Alan Turing Institute and the NHS, where he applied analytical tools to health, environment, and defence challenges. Josh holds a PhD in Evolutionary Biology from the University of Bath, where his research led to the discoveries around Seabird Macroevolution.
• Benedict Westhenry, Research Software Engineer

  Benedict is a Research Software Engineer at the JGI. His interests are in software engineering and best practices for data science and reproducible research and has diverse experience across both academia and industry. He joined the institute in November 2025 after several years working in software engineering and data science at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN.

• Operations Manager - Hannah Berg

  hannah.berg@bristol.ac.uk
• Research Partnership and Engagement Associate - Vicky Jones

  vicky.jones@bristol.ac.uk, +44 117 455 6116 (she/her)
• Research Partnerships & Engagement Associate - Jim Evans

  jim.evans@bristol.ac.uk
• Research Partnerships & Engagement Associate - Isabelle Halton

  Currently on maternity leave
• Senior Communications Officer - Amanda Woodman-Hardy

  amanda.woodman-hardy@bristol.ac.uk, (she/her)
• Project Co-ordinator - Julia Cassell

  julia.cassell@bristol.ac.uk, Tel: +44 (0) 117 455 2629
• Strategic Events Officer - Adele Hulin

  adele.hulin@bristol.ac.uk, +44 (0)117 455 3144 (she/her)
• Strategic Events Officer - Rebecca Axford

  rebecca.axford@bristol.ac.uk
• URI Administrator - Jocelyn Egginton

  ebih-admin@bristol.ac.uk, +44 (0)117 456 0271
• Executive Assistant - Angus Morrice

  cabot-enquiries@bristol.ac.uk, +44 (0)117 455 4828
• Postgraduate Student Administrator - Karen Smart

  cabot-pgr@bristol.ac.uk