Raphael Sonabend-Friend

Dr Raphael Sonabend-Friend is an Associate Director at the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), where he leads the AI Methods and Safety (AIMS) team. AIMS is responsible for NICE's "AI Methods for Evidence Framework", in-house evaluation of AI applications in health technology assessment (HTA) and guideline development, and research exploring the future of HTA with agentic AI. Previously known as Real-World Evidence Methods, the team also developed and maintains the NICE Real-World Evidence Framework. Raphael holds a PhD focused on making machine learning for survival analysis more accessible and transparent and is the author of two AI textbooks, most recently "Machine Learning for Survival Analysis" (December 2026, CRC Press). Raphael has over a decade of experience working at the intersection of emerging technologies and healthcare, spanning government, philanthropy, the charitable sector and private consulting with UK and international organi