Methods for the storage, processing and display of railway related datasets; in particular data representation and exchange via ontologies, manipulation and integration of data relevant to the multimodal transport system, and cyber security in industrial control systems.

Initially working in the field of Metabolomics, where he developed data models for the exchange and analysis of NMR data, John moved to the Birmingham Centre for Railway Research and Education in 2009. Since then he’s worked on a range of data driven projects in rail, and currently leads the research activity on data integration, management and cyber security for the UK Rail Research and Innovation Network’s (UKRRIN) Centre of Excellence in Digital Systems. John is actively involved in hosting conferences in the area of transportation data, acting as the programme chair of the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) International Conference on Railway Engineering’s European events, and chairing an annual workshop at the IEEE’s Big Data conferences in the USA.

Alongside his academic duties, John sits on the GB rail industry’s Data and Information Systems Interface Committee (DISIC), is the immediate past chair of the IET's Railway Technical Network having previously chaired the group between 2018 and 2021, and has been a visiting Fellow of the Alan Turing Institute in 2022/23.