Leading the way: Women advancing pan-Canadian health data research at HDRN Canada
On February 11, the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, HDRN Canada celebrates the vital contributions women make to our mission of bringing people together to enable transformative, world-leading uses of health data.
Established by the United Nations in 2015, this global day of observance recognizes the critical role women and girls play in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), and underscores the importance of strengthening their full and equal participation. Across HDRN Canada’s pan-Canadian network of data centres and other member organizations, women hold leadership roles and drive advances in data science, supporting multi-regional health data research that delivers impact for communities across Canada.
Having women in leadership and data roles reduces blind spots. It changes what questions we ask, the data we collect, how we interpret findings and how we act on them. ~ Robyn Kydd
For Dr. Lisa Lix, a member of HDRN Canada’s Executive Committee, IDWSGW is an opportunity to reflect on the past accomplishments made by women in data science, and to learn about current initiatives. “It’s inspiring to learn about research that women from other countries are leading, and hear about efforts to train women in statistics and data science.”
Dr. Lix is the director of Data Science at the George & Fay Yee Centre for Health Care Innovation, an HDRN Canada member, and a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Methods for Electronic Health Data Quality at the University of Manitoba. She also leads HDRN Canada’s Harmonized Data & Tools Team, which focuses on harmonizing health data to ensure they are usable, comparable and trustworthy across provinces and territories. Harmonized data enable pan-Canadian and multi-regional research, allowing researchers to study health issues across the whole country rather than in single jurisdictions.
Under Dr. Lix’s leadership, the Harmonized Data & Tools Team built HDRN Canada’s Algorithms Inventory and Data Assets Inventory, and is currently working on new resources, such as the Pan-Canadian Concept Dictionary and Phenotype Library, to improve meta-data about provincial/territorial electronic health and social data. Another project is using machine learning to de-identify electronic medical records to enhance patient privacy.
Dr. Lix has been inspired by women leaders in data science, and credits her success, in part, to their encouragement. “Leaders at every level play a crucial role in promoting STEM career paths for women,” she said, adding that the success of women and gender-diverse people in data science requires access to high-quality data, open science initiatives, and formal leadership development.
Robyn Kydd couldn’t agree more: “Having women in leadership and data roles reduces blind spots. It changes what questions we ask, the data we collect, how we interpret findings and how we act on them.” Kydd is senior research scientist at the Secure Island Data Repository (SIDR) in Prince Edward Island, HDRN Canada’s newest member. Originally trained as a veterinarian, curiosity about the social determinants of health drew her toward a career in data science, and mentorship made this transition possible. “Every mentor I’ve had has made me believe in myself.”
At SIDR, Kydd leads a team that guides health researchers in accessing and using administrative data for population-level studies. She emphasized that meaningful work in data science doesn’t hinge on coding alone. “Many people still picture data research as just sitting down with a dataset and running models,” she explained. “But the real work begins much earlier, defining research questions, deciding who’s included in a cohort, shaping the story the data will tell.”
Kydd’s approach draws on the work of HDRN Canada’s IDEA Team, which strives to benefit those who have been systematically excluded from data research and further marginalized by its findings. “Equity isn’t an afterthought. It’s built into how we design studies, define cohorts and interpret what the data actually mean,” Kydd said. “Even things that might seem small, like who’s included in a dataset or how categories are defined, can have ripple effects for years in health research and policy.”
Together, Dr. Lisa Lix and Robyn Kydd, along with other women leaders across HDRN Canada, are shaping not only how health data are used, but also whose experiences are reflected in the evidence that informs care and policy. On the International Day of Women and Girls in Science—and every day—their leadership strengthens health data research and helps build a more equitable, inclusive health system for everyone in Canada.