Professor Lesley Anderson is Professor and Interdisciplinary Institute Director for Health, Nutrition and Wellbeing at the University of Aberdeen. She joined Aberdeen in March 2020 after serving as Deputy Director of the Northern Ireland Cancer Registry, where she led the production of Official Cancer Statistics for Northern Ireland, managed a multidisciplinary team of 25 staff, and developed major national and international research collaborations.
Professor Anderson trained at Queen’s University Belfast and was awarded a PhD in Cancer Epidemiology in 2004. She subsequently completed a UK Medical Research Council Academic Fellowship and a Cancer Prevention Fellowship at the US National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Maryland.
With more than 25 years of experience in population health research, health data science, artificial intelligence evaluation, and implementation science, Professor Anderson has led and contributed to interdisciplinary programmes across the UK, Ireland, Europe, North America, Africa, Asia, and Australia. Her research focuses on the evaluation, implementation, and real-world impact of AI-enabled healthcare technologies, digital diagnostics, early disease detection, and the responsible use of health data to improve patient outcomes and health system performance.
Professor Anderson served as Grampian Academic Lead within the Industrial Centre for Artificial Intelligence Research in Digital Diagnostics (iCAIRD) and was a member of its Operational Management Team and Governance and Sustainability Team. She has played a leading role in the evaluation of AI technologies in breast screening, digital diagnostics, and musculoskeletal care, contributing evidence that has informed clinical practice, technology adoption, and AI implementation strategies across the UK.
She also holds honorary appointments as Honorary Chair in Health Data Science with NHS Grampian and Visiting Professor at Queen’s University Belfast. As Director of the Interdisciplinary Institute for Health, Nutrition and Wellbeing, she leads large interdisciplinary collaborations spanning health sciences, computing, engineering, social sciences, arts, and humanities. Her current work focuses on advancing trustworthy AI, digital health innovation, and interdisciplinary approaches that improve population health, healthcare delivery, and societal wellbeing.
