Mina Tanna

After I retired from a career in banking, I did some voluntary work but felt there was something missing. A friend introduced me to being a public participant in research projects with the university. This gave me a chance to pursue my passion for medical research. Prior to banking, I had worked as a Research Biochemist at Bristol University.

As a thalassaemia patient, I joined a project with the blood transfusion unit where I met OpenSAFELY consultant Andy Gibson. I found out about OpenSAFELY and the use of big data from him. My background in banking, where I had worked in various departments, including management information, data warehousing, programming and analysis, made me naturally interested. Working as a PPI contributor, I realised how public involvement in medical research is so important. Researchers benefit from a layperson’s opinion on the research topic, how it is conducted, who is it going to benefit and so on.

OpenSAFELY has given me a perfect opportunity to combine my passion for research and experience in banking. There were quite a few of us recruited at the same time and we were given some training sessions to understand what OpenSAFELY is all about.

Personally, I feel privileged to be involved in this type of programme and feel that I am making a difference. My confidence level from when I started and now has grown tremendously. I never thought that my life journey from research to data would bring me to this sort of work during my retirement. I am learning a lot and keeping up with the technology is the big bonus and feel very chuffed to be involved with young people who are so enthusiastic about the work they are doing.