Join us on Friday 13 February, 2026 at Google HQ, London for Connect: the annual event from Health Research from Home where you can shape the future of health research using smartphones and wearables. 

 We are gathering the brightest minds in academia, industry and public/patient contributors for an unmissable interactive and exciting one day event. From informative keynote talks to showcases about leading technology and current research projects, we are providing unique opportunities for networking, along with inspiration for your own research ideas. 

You can expect: 

• Two keynote lectures given by world-leading experts in the use of smartphones and wearables for health research. 

• An update from Government about the 10 Year Plan and the role of smartphones and wearables 

• A technology showcase to explore how to unlock the value of smartphone sensors. 

• Updates of what’s been happening in Health Research from Home and exciting upcoming opportunities. 

• Stories and insights from our public contributors, showing how their experiences have shaped Health Research from Home. 

• A thought-provoking research showcase where delegates compete for the prestigious Ken Rothman Award. 

Who is Connect for? 

• Academics working in health research using smartphones and wearables. 

• Industry leaders in wearables and smartphone applications. 

• Industries in health research. 

• International Regulatory Bodies 

• People living with long-term health conditions who are interested or involved in health research using smartphones and wearables. 

Tickets are strictly limited and we’re expecting to sell out quickly. Book now to avoid disappointment.

About

• Cross-Sector Networking
• Co-Creation
• Inspirational Speakers
• Technology Showcase

Health Research from Home (HRfH) has been funded by the Medical Research Council (UKRI MRC) to build a cross-sector community and share know-how and skills.

Thanks to our MRC grant, the generosity of our partner Google and our Co-Design Workshop sponsor Haleon, delegates are able to register for this prestigious and exciting event for free.

Neither Google nor Haleon have influenced the scientific content of the event.

Compete for the Ken Rothman Award 

We are offering the opportunity for early career researchers to present their work at Connect and compete for the Ken Rothman award. There will be ten three-minute showcase slots available. Presentations should cover population health research (completed or work in progress), using smartphones and/or wearables. Tickets for Connect will prioritised for research showcase applicants.

Apply by Sunday 7 December, 2025: https://forms.office.com/e/49iBeBhQSN 

2026 Agenda

9:00 Registration
10:00 Introduction to Health Research from Home – Will Dixon
10:10 Living with a long-term condition, and how that shapes health research from home- Public contributors
10:30 Digital in the NHS 10 Year Plan – Felix Greaves, Director of Digital, Data and Innovation Strategy and Head of the Digital Policy Unit, NHS
10:45 Keynote lecture 1
11:30 Break
11:45 Invisible posters
12:45 Lunch
13:30 News and announcements from Health Research from Home
13:45 Technology showcase
15:00 Break
15:30 Research showcase for the Ken Rothman Award
16:30 Break
16:40 Keynote lecture 2
17:25 Ken Rothman Award prize giving
17:30 End – optional drinks reception

Highlights of HRfH Connect 2025

Co-Design at the Core

Our Co-Design workshop was one of the highlights of HRfH Connect. We identified a real problem facing our community and then asked thinkpublic to create a collaborative workshop so delegates could help us find answers.

We brought academics, industry and members of the public together, as only through combining their individual insights can we create life-changing research. A huge thank you to Haleon for sponsoring this workshop.

The Ken Rothman Award

We invited 14 talented researchers to share their work in front of some of the biggest names in health research using smartphones and wearables.

Congratulations to Michele Orini from Kings College London who won our audience vote for his presentation and received an Oura Ring for his efforts.

It was the hugely impressive Humphrey Curtis and Timothy Neate, also from Kings College London, who took home The Ken Rothman Award. Their presentation on ‘Co-designed Wearable and Discreet Communication Technologies For People with Aphasia’ was a brilliant demonstration of how research using smartphones and wearables has the power to transform lives.

Inspirational Speakers

The diversity of the HRfH Connect speakers reflected the diversity of people needed to create world-leading research. Thank you to Professor Aiden Doherty and Professor Claire Steves, it was so inspirational for our delegates to hear about the huge impact their work has made in the UK and around the world.

Thank you also to Dr Mary De Silva, her unique perspective on health research from the government’s point of view demonstrated the potential and impact research can have on our daily lives.

A final, and very special thank you, to Max Carlish and Seb Tucknott who spoke so eloquently about living with their long-term health conditions. Hearing about the challenges they face, and how technology could help them manage their conditions, put the whole event into perspective.

Latest Technology

Industry is the third pillar in a collaborative approach to health research using smartphones and wearables. We were thrilled that Fitbit/Google, Oura, uMotif and RADAR-Base agreed to participate in a technology showcase.

Through their presentations they showed what their technology is capable of and how it can be applied to research. They shared examples of successful collaboration with researchers and the public. They also offered the room a glimpse into the future and the possibilities that technology currently in development may bring.

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