Evaluating a Fellowship Programme's Research Impact - Leukaemia UK

About the client

Leukaemia UK’s mission is to accelerate progress through the life-changing research that matters most to people affected by leukaemia. The charity’s John Goldman Fellowship (JGF) scheme has been running since 2015, named after the late eminent haematologist. The aim of the Fellowship is to support early-career researchers (clinical and non-clinical) to deliver excellent research on a pathway to research independence and leadership.

Challenge

To better understand and showcase the impact of this programme, Leukaemia UK commissioned a detailed analysis on 35 completed Fellowships, covering bibliometric evaluation, thematic mapping, and qualitative insights through extensive interviews.

Approach

This evaluation blended traditional research assessment with cutting-edge AI techniques, enabling both quantitative insights and accessible narratives of complex science. I:

• Conducted bibliometric analyses using open scientific databases including OpenAlex, Europe PMC and a bespoke funding dataset that covers all major research funders in the UK, quantifying the scientific outputs and collaborations of JGF Fellows.

• Employed large language models to synthesise complex scientific information into accessible narratives about research impact, to be used by Leukaemia UK in their communications.

• Created thematic visualisations using vector embeddings of grant and publication title/abstract data. Documents were clustered based on their semantic meaning — grouped by how similar their topics are — to analyse the thematic impact that specific grants have on researchers’ scientific trajectories.

• Conducted interviews with key Fellows and prepared in-depth case studies about their research journeys and achievements.

Outcomes

The analysis showcased the impressive productivity and influence of the Fellows. Among other things, it showed how during and after the Fellowship their networks expanded, how they progressed their science through the translational pipeline, and how they leveraged additional substantial funding from major funding bodies.

The project’s outcomes included:

• Detailed Fellow profiles, including semi-structured interviews, for a number of Fellows highlighted through the quantitative analysis
• Scientific and lay narratives summarising discoveries funded by the grants
• Strategic recommendations to enhance future monitoring and engagement processes

This in-depth evaluation confirmed the JGF’s role as a cornerstone in the UK’s leukaemia research ecosystem, nurturing future scientific leaders, promoting new areas of research, and facilitating the translation of discoveries that can lead to clinical impact.