Ruth Gilbert is a clinical epidemiologist trained in paediatrics. Ruth co-directs the NIHR Children and Families Policy Research which conducts research on child and family health to inform the Department of Health and Social Care and related government bodies. She also co-directs the Health Data Research UK driver programme on Social and Environmental Determinants of Health. She helped to establish the ECHILD database (Education and Child Health Insights from Linked Data) and works with researchers using linked educational, hospitalisation and social care data for all children in England to assess health-related determinants and outcomes across the life course and from mother to child(ren). She leads the NIHR-funded HOPE Study which uses ECHILD to evaluate the impact of special educational needs provision on health outcomes. Most recently, she established a novel database linking de-identified health data to public law, family court administrative records on women involved in court proceedings.