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About
About
Octavia Wilks, MBChB, MPH
Octavia Wilks, MBChB, MPH
Medical advisor, Flo Health Inc., UK
quote
“I am passionate about harnessing the power of technology to improve the health of populations and to empower people to make the best choices for them.”
— Octavia Wilks, MBChB, MPH
Career Highlights
  • Clinical digital health clinician, Babylon Health, London, UK, 2021–2022
  • Clinical artificial intelligence (AI) fellow, Babylon Health, London, UK, 2020–2021
  • Doctor in accident and emergency department, St Mary’s Hospital, Imperial College Healthcare National Health Service (NHS) Trust, London, UK, 2018–2020
  • Foundation program doctor, Health Education England, North West Thames, Leeds, UK, 2016–2018
  • Certified in advanced life support by the Resuscitation Council UK, 2016–2020
  • Registered with the General Medical Council, UK, since 2017
  • Volunteer committee member, Sexpression:UK, a national organization delivering sex education to children in secondary schools, London, UK, 2012–2016
Education
  • Master’s of public health from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, UK, 2019
  • Medical degree (MBChB) from the University of Sheffield, UK, 2016
  • Bachelor of Science in anatomical science from the University of Bristol, UK, 2010
Featured Publication

“Levels of DNA Methylation Vary at CpG Sites across the BRCA1 Promoter, and Differ According to Triple Negative and ‘BRCA-like’ Status, in Both Blood and Tumour DNA.” PLoS One, vol. 11, no. 7, 2016, pp. e0160174.

My Journey in Medicine

My career began in the UK NHS, working in a number of different medical specialties, including emergency medicine, general practice, geriatrics, acute medicine, and otolaryngology. Driven by a desire to turn my focus from the individual patient to populations, I undertook a master’s in public health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. There, I explored my passion for using quantitative research methods in the field of noncommunicable disease and health promotion through my dissertation on diabetes risk prediction in Kenya. 

I’m very interested in AI and see great potential in the power of big data to solve real-world problems. I want to devote my career to combining my knowledge of clinical decision-making with advanced AI solutions. At Babylon Health, I worked as part of the digital clinical health team to maintain the performance of the symptom checker and ensure its medical content was based on the most up-to-date guidance.

At Flo, I am excited to use my knowledge of clinical practice and my product skills to improve the lives of women and people who menstruate, and I feel that there has never been such an important moment to put women’s health issues center stage.

Fun Facts

I love dogs and have a very mischievous German shepherd called Caesar!

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