I am a public and patient contributor for the British Heart Foundation Data Science Centre and have been involved with the wearables programme on patient advisory steering group since May 2021. I joined the project because I believe strongly in motivating and empowering people to prevent poor health and improve their health conditions. As a data professional, I understand the important role that useable information plays in enabling people to better understand and advocate for their health, and in informing health professionals’ advice and decisions. I have a Masters degree in research methods and am semi-retired from a career in analysis and service evaluation in the charity and public sectors and now help to run my family business. I was a keen fitness enthusiast until experiencing long-term issues after contracting Covid in March 2020. I have two grown up sons, one of whom has had a chronic medical condition since early childhood. These experiences have given me a personal insight into feelings of vulnerability often experienced by patients and the importance of health research in providing better understanding, treatment and care.