Research & Professional Background

I am an Independent Research and Data Science Consultant specialising in responsible and explainable AI for health and environmental applications. My work combines machine learning, clinical data, and population research to improve the fairness, interpretability, and real-world impact of predictive models.

I work at the intersection of AI, health, and data: collaborating with researchers, clinicians, and organisations to build fair and explainable models.

I recently completed a postdoctoral research position at Helmholtz Munich, where I developed explainable machine learning frameworks for environmental health research. Before that, I completed my PhD in Health Data Science at the University of Cambridge on the Health Data Research UK-Turing Wellcome PhD Programme, bridging machine learning and epidemiology in my thesis on Evaluating and enhancing cardiovascular disease risk prediction with algorithmic fairness. I was supervised by Angela Wood, Mike Inouye, and Sam Lambert. I remain a Visiting Researcher at the University of Cambridge.

Prior to my PhD, I was a DeepMind Scholar in MPhil Advanced Computer Science at the Cambridge Computer Laboratory, supervised by Neil Lawrence. My thesis explored Fairness and the bias–variance trade-off in machine learning models used for automated decision-making. I hold a first-class BSc in Computer Science from the University of Birmingham, where I specialised in AI and completed visiting placements at the Universities of British Columbia and Waterloo.

Earlier in my career, I worked as an AI research consultant in a start-up environment, developing software for autonomous vehicles and designing multi-objective route planning algorithms. This work led to two patents: Vehicle Route Guidance and Target Speed Optimisation.

I particularly value the collaborative side of research and enjoy connecting with people from diverse disciplines. Feel free to get in touch via Bluesky, LinkedIn, or e-mail clairecoffey[at]live.co.uk!

Recent News

Publications & Patents

Academic Talks

Public Engagement & Science Communication

I am keen to be involved in more science communication work, as I believe public engagement is a core part of doing useful research.

Teaching

Academic Activities

Other Projects

Personal Interests

Singing is one of my favourite hobbies, and I am a member of Clare Hall Choir. Elsewhere, I have been a soloist, lead vocalist, backing vocalist, and chorister in genres ranging from rock to classical!

I am also passionate about sustainability, and in particular, local sustainability initiatives and growing food. I co-founded the University of Cambridge Allotment Society, where we built a community to grow fruit and vegetables sustainably, and donated excess to local charities. This included writing grant applications for funding, managing the day-to-day running of the allotment, building connections between local initiatives, and social media management.

I love learning new things, meeting new people, and keeping active; I have taken up various hobbies to feed this curiosity. I adore travelling, especially exploring nature! My other hobbies include hiking, dancing (ex-UK freestyle display team), yoga, digital art, and photography. I also train in Fujian White Crane Kung Fu and rowed in Clare Hall Boat Club, where I was social secretary and organised the inaugural international training camp for the club.