Skip to main content

Staff Profile

Dr Olly Butters

Senior Research Associate

Background

Overview

I am a data scientist working across health data science and social science on projects related to the access, sharing and use of health data. I currently work on a variety of projects including:


Background

I studied Physics at Imperial College London, then moved on to do a Ph.D. in Astrophysics at the Open University. My Ph.D. project was a combination of observational astronomy and developing a computer simulation of X-ray absorption from Intermediate Polars.

My first research associate position was at the University of Leicester. This was working with the SuperWASP project which was an exoplanet finding project. A key piece of work I did was to do the first data release for the project, which make over 100 billion data points publicly available. I also ran the Leicester Database Archive Service (LEDAS).

I then developed a project to bring together the etymology of UK place names, genetics data, census data and treasure hunt finds. This allowed cross-disciplinary research questions to be addressed in a way that was not previously possible.

I then worked on a project called BRISSKit (Biomedical Research Infrastructure Software Service Kit). This was an ambitious bioinformatics I.T. infrastructure project in partnership with University Hospitals Leicester Trust. Its main aim was to bring together a suite of programs to form a generic cloud-based platform that researchers could quickly and easily implement, thus reducing the overhead of I.T. infrastructure development and deployment. In this position I was the lead developer, driving the direction of the technical development. 

I was the senior data manager of the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC - www.bristol.ac.uk/alspac) at the University of Bristol. In this role I lead a team of 10 members, looking after the data and the infrastructure needed to maintain the ALSPAC birth cohort. This involved curating over twenty five years of data, while all the time facilitating the collection and processing of new data. The data was in a wide variety of formats and sizes, and included questionnaires, clinical assessments, biological samples and genetic data. All of this data had to be ingested into the main resource and made available to researchers in a timely fashion.


Qualifications

Ph.D. in astrophysics from the Open University

M.Sci. in Physics from Imperial College London


More info

You can find out more about me at:


Publications
  • Shah T, Wilson L, Booth N, Butters O, McDonald J, Common K, Martin M, Minion J, Burton P, Murtagh M. Information-sharing in health and social care: Lessons from a socio-technical initiative. Public Money and Management 2019, 39(5), 359-363.
  • Murtagh MJ, Blell MT, Butters OW, Cowley L, Dove ES, Goodman A, Griggs RL, Hall A, Hallowell N, Kumari M, Mangino M, Maughan B, Mills MC, Minion JT, Murphy T, Prior G, Suderman M, Ring SM, Rogers NT, Roberts SJ, Van der Straeten C, Viney W, Wiltshire D, Wong A, Walker N, Burton PR. Better governance, better access: practising responsible data sharing in the METADAC governance infrastructure. Human Genomics 2018, 12, 24.
  • Butters OW, Ismail A, Thompson S, Wilson RC. Generation of a cleaned dataset listing Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents And Children peer-reviewed publications to 2015. Wellcome Open Research 2018, 3, 161.
  • Wilson RC, Butters OW, Avraam D, Baker J, Tedds JA, Turner A, Murtagh M, Burton PR. DataSHIELD – New Directions and Dimensions. Data Science Journal 2017, 16, 21.
  • Wilson RC, Butters OW, Clark T, Minion J, Turner A, Murtagh MJ. Digital Methodology to implement the ECOUTER engagement process. F1000Research 2017, 5, 1307.
  • Murtagh MJ, Minion JT, Turner A, Wilson RC, Blell M, Ochieng C, Murtagh B, Roberts S, Butters OW, Burton PR. The ECOUTER methodology for stakeholder engagement in translational research. BMC Medical Ethics 2017, 18(1), 24.
  • Butters OW, Issa S, Lusted J, Newbury M, Parsloe R, Holden N, Free RC, Beck T, Wilson RC, Burton PR, Tedds JA. The Biomedical Research Infrastructure Software as a Service Kit (BRISSKit): Technical description. F1000Research 2016, 5, 1905.
  • Gaye A, Marcon Y, Isaeva J, LaFlamme P, Turner A, Jones EM, Minion J, Boyd AW, Newby CJ, Nuotio M-L, Wilson R, Butters O, Murtagh B, Demir I, Doiron D, Giepmans L, Wallace SE, Budin-Ljøsne I, Oliver Schmidt C, Boffetta P, Boniol M, Bota M, Carter KW, deKlerk N, Dibben C, Francis RW, Hiekkalinna T, Hveem K, Kvaløy K, Millar S, Perry IJ, Peters A, Phillips CM, Popham F, Raab G, Reischl E, Sheehan N, Waldenberger M, Perola M, van den Heuvel E, Macleod J, Knoppers BM, Stolk RP, Fortier I, Harris JR, Woffenbuttel BH, Murtagh MJ, Ferretti V, Burton PR. DataSHIELD: taking the analysis to the data, not the data to the analysis. International Journal of Epidemiology 2014, 43(6), 1929-1944.
  • Gaye A, Marcon Y, Isaeva J, Laflamme P, Turner A, Jones EM, Minion J, Boyd AW, Newby CJ, Nuotio M, Wilson R, Butters O, Murtagh B, Demir I, Doiron D, Giepmans L, Wallace SE, Budin-ljosne I, Oliver schmidt C, Boffetta P, Boniol M, Bota M, Carter KW, Deklerk N, Dibben C, Francis RW, Hiekkalinna T, Hveem K, Kvaloy K, Millar S, Perry IJ, Peters A, Phillips CM, Popham F, Raab G, Reischl E, Sheehan N, Waldenberger M, Perola M, Van den heuvel E, Macleod J, Knoppers BM, Stolk RP, Fortier I, Harris JR, Woffenbuttel BHR, Murtagh MJ, Ferretti V, Burton PR. DataSHIELD: Taking the analysis to the data, not the data to the analysis. International Journal of Epidemiology 2014, 43(6), 1929-1944.
  • Potter SB, Romero-Colmenero E, Kotze M, Zietsman E, Butters OW, Pekeur N, Buckley DAH. On the spin modulated circular polarization from the intermediate polars NY Lup and IGR J15094-6649. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 2012, 420, 2596.
  • Simpson EK, Barros SCC, Brown DJA, Collier Cameron A, Pollacco D, Skillen I, Stempels HC, Boisse I, Faedi F, Hébrard G, McCormac J, Sorensen P, Street RA, Anderson D, Bento J, Bouchy F, Butters OW, Enoch B, Haswell CA, Hebb L, Hellier C, Holmes S, Horne K, Keenan FP, Lister TA, Maxted PFL, Miller GRM, Moulds V, Moutou C, Norton AJ, Parley N, Santerne A, Smalley B, Smith AMS, Todd I, Watson CA, West RG, Wheatley PJ. Independent Discovery of the Transiting Exoplanet HAT-P-14b. The Astronomical Journal 2011, 141.
  • Wittenmyer RA, Horner J, Marshall JP, Butters OW, Tinney CG. Revisiting the proposed planetary system orbiting the eclipsing polar HU Aquarii. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 2011, 419, 3258-3267.
  • Butters OW, Norton AJ, Mukai K, Tomsick J. RXTE and XMM observations of intermediate polar candidates. Astronomy and Astrophysics 2011, 526.
  • Norton AJ, Payne SG, Evans T, West RG, Wheatley PJ, Anderson DR, Barros SCC, Butters OW, Collier Cameron A, Christian DJ, Enoch B, Faedi F, Haswell CA, Hellier C, Holmes S, Horne KD, Kane SR, Lister TA, Maxted PFL, Parley N, Pollacco D, Simpson EK, Skillen I, Smalley B, Southworth J, Street RA. Short period eclipsing binary candidates identified using SuperWASP. Astronomy & Astrophysics 2011, 528.
  • Smalley B, Kurtz DW, Smith AMS, Fossati L, Anderson DR, Barros SCC, Butters OW, Collier Cameron A, Christian DJ, Enoch B, Faedi F, Haswell CA, Hellier C, Holmes S, Horne K, Kane SR, Lister TA, Maxted PFL, Norton AJ, Parley N, Pollacco D, Simpson EK, Skillen I, Southworth J, Street RA, West RG, Wheatley PJ, Wood PL. SuperWASP observations of pulsating Am stars. Astronomy & Astrophysics 2011, 535.
  • Enoch B, Anderson DR, Barros SCC, Brown DJA, Collier Cameron A, Faedi F, Gillon M, Hébrard G, Lister TA, Queloz D, Santerne A, Smalley B, Street RA, Triaud AHMJ, West RG, Bouchy F, Bento J, Butters O, Fossati L, Haswell CA, Hellier C, Holmes S, Jehen E, Lendl M, Maxted PFL, McCormac J, Miller GRM, Moulds V, Moutou C, Norton AJ, Parley N, Pepe F, Pollacco D, Segransan D, Simpson E, Skillen I, Smith AMS, Udry S, Wheatley PJ. WASP-35b, WASP-48b, and HAT-P-30b/WASP-51b: Two New Planets and an Independent Discovery of a Hat Planet. The Astronomical Journal 2011, 142.
  • Simpson EK, Faedi F, Barros SCC, Brown DJA, Collier Cameron A, Hebb L, Pollacco D, Smalley B, Todd I, Butters OW, Hébrard G, McCormac J, Miller GRM, Santerne A, Street RA, Skillen I, Triaud AHMJ, Anderson DR, Bento J, Boisse I, Bouchy F, Enoch B, Haswell CA, Hellier C, Holmes S, Horne K, Keenan FP, Lister TA, Maxted PFL, Moulds V, Moutou C, Norton AJ, Parley N, Pepe F, Queloz D, Segransan D, Smith AMS, Stempels HC, Udry S, Watson CA, West RG, Wheatley PJ. WASP-37b: A 1.8 M J Exoplanet Transiting a Metal-poor Star. The Astronomical Journal 2011, 141.
  • Barros SCC, Faedi F, Collier Cameron A, Lister TA, McCormac J, Pollacco D, Simpson EK, Smalley B, Street RA, Todd I, Triaud AHMJ, Boisse I, Bouchy F, Hébrard G, Moutou C, Pepe F, Queloz D, Santerne A, Segransan D, Udry S, Bento J, Butters OW, Enoch B, Haswell CA, Hellier C, Keenan FP, Miller GRM, Moulds V, Norton AJ, Parley N, Skillen I, Watson CA, West RG, Wheatley PJ. WASP-38b: a transiting exoplanet in an eccentric, 6.87d period orbit. Astronomy and Astrophysics 2011, 525.
  • Faedi F, Barros SCC, Anderson DR, Brown DJA, Collier Cameron A, Pollacco D, Boisse I, Hebrard G, Lendl M, Lister TA, Smalley B, Street RA, Triaud AHMJ, Bento J, Butters OW, Enoch B, Bouchy F, Haswell CA, Hellier C, Keenan FP, Miller GRM, Moulds V, Moutou C, Norton AJ, Queloz D, Santerne A, Simpson EK, Skillen I, Smith AMS, Udry S, Watson CA, West RG, Wheatley PJ. WASP-39b: a highly inflated Saturn-mass planet orbiting a late G-type star. Astronomy and Astrophysics 2011, 531.