Joseph Hearnshaw

As a child, I always questioned the workings of life around me, troubled by questions of how life works and how we can treat diseases. I have always envisioned myself being able to one day solve the mysteries of life and finding ways to help improve it. This encouraged me to pursue a degree in Human Biology, with a strong focus on genetics, endocrinology, and anatomy and physiology.

I later studied for a Masters degree in Applied Bioinformatics, so that I could apply the power of computing to understand the vastly complicated mechanisms by which life, both human and non-human, works.

I have worked at biotech companies, like Imagen Therapeutics, where I worked on the ultimate goal of helping improve the lives of cancer patients. Prior to this I worked at Humanity V2 Ltd, a start-up focused on helping people make smarter food choices, and The University of Manchester as a Research Associate in Allergomy. My work entails the heavy use of computer science, bioinformatics, statistics, immunology, and medical science. I am an elected member of the Royal Society of Biology, as well as the Institute of Leadership and Management and the British Computer Society. I am also an elected Fellow at the Royal Society of Arts, Manufacturing and Commerce.

Prior to this, I worked as a Research Scientist and bioinformatics engineer at Rothamsted Research, within the world of academia. There my work focused on developing software, applications and tools to better understand the molecular underpinnings of pathogen and host interactions. At Rothamsted, I also created a COVID-19 knowledge graph to help researchers navigate the sea of Coronavirus information and make meaningful discoveries – my work was featured in Nature and cited elsewhere. I also worked within the COVID-19 international research team, alongside NASA, NIH, UC-Berkeley and many others. My experience isn’t just limited to computational biology; I previously worked as a research assistant within the laboratory and clinic, alongside medical Doctors and Academics. During this role, my research focused on identifying ways to combat inflammatory diseases, with a focus on molecular genetics, epigenetics, and physiology.

My fascination with the workings of life has continued throughout my career, even now as I integrate my human and non-human biology knowledge, alongside my software skills and strong ability to critically appraise scientific literature, which enables me to develop and engineer software tools for the world of biological, agrifood, and medical sciences.

Continuing with my passion for understanding the human body and trying to make a difference to the lives around me, I am excited to be working with the clinical team at The Men’s Health Clinic.

In my spare time, I write on various medical topics for clinicians, academics, and the general public to read, understand, and ponder on. I will continue to advise The Men’s Health Clinic on how to help progress men’s health in the UK.

When health is absent, wisdom cannot reveal itself, art cannot manifest, strength cannot fight, wealth becomes useless, and intelligence cannot be applied. – Herophilus

My goal is to help improve the lives of all. Improving health is undoubtedly one way to achieve this and it starts with helping explain the workings behind a persons health and how we can improve it.