The Looper Community is a global, self-organised network of people living with diabetes.
Frustrated by barriers imposed by commercial medical device companies that have historically restricted access to, and transparency over, patient data, members began connecting their own devices and sharing data directly.
What started as a workaround has evolved into a thriving peer support network, where people co-develop and refine tools based on lived experience, reclaiming agency over their own health in the process.
The Looper Community represents a model of patient-led innovation that is increasingly relevant beyond diabetes, to any community that generates data collectively and wants to ensure it remains in their hands.
Our partners
Mark Coté & Dr. Sufyan Hussain, King`s College London – United Kingdom
We’re working closely in collaboration with Dr Mark Coté and Dr. Sufyan Hussain, whose expertise and deep ties with the looper community make them uniquely positioned to bridge research, clinical practice and drive patient-led data governance innovation.
As part of the clinic, we aim to engage with a small subset of the looper community to explore possibilities for what a bottom-up data governance structure could look like in practice.
Specifically, this would involve mapping community experiences as loopers, interests/values of data and then identifying relevant legal frameworks and consent mechanisms needed to enable data pooling, sharing and responsible use.
Meet our students
Clement Mok
Clement is completing a PGDip in Law and Professional Practice at King’s.
Clement has experience in technology risk auditing and consulting and has focused on using data to support equity for SMEs and community partners.
Through internships and pro bono projects, he's worked on data access controls, GDPR-informed governance, and data-driven strategy, developing a practical understanding of how complex data systems affect smaller organisations with limited resources.
Clement sees the Clinic as an opportunity to “make tangible, real-world differences to community partners and SMEs,” and is especially motivated by improving transparency around third-party data sharing and data usage. His experience auditing data access controls and supporting startups reinforced his belief in data’s potential to level the playing field.
He is particularly interested in addressing opaque data brokerage networks, noting that clearer systems could help users make informed choices and enable SMEs to retain data locally through more transparent practices.
Eloisa Leiteritz
Eloisa is a BA Digital Media and Culture student, focusing on digital policy, AI, and data governance.
Her interest in data stems from studying how digital policies shape access, accountability, and empowerment.
Eloisa’s current research interests explore “Artificial Intelligence and the resistance and tech-pessimism environment of the digital humanities,” examining how skepticism towards AI reflects deeper concerns about data ethics, creativity, and academic integrity.
Eloisa sees the Clinic as a rare opportunity to engage directly with real-world challenges around data ethics, privacy, and regulation, and she is especially keen to support work that explores how data can empower communities rather than reinforce inequalities.
As an international student, Eloisa brings an interdisciplinary and cross-cultural perspective to this collaborative research.
Patrycja Kurasinska
Patrycja is completing a PGDip in Law and Professional Practice at King's College London.
She is interested in how legal rules translate into operational systems – particularly how data governance frameworks can be designed, implemented and audited in practice.
Through the Data Empowerment Clinic, she is exploring how law interfaces with technology, compliance architecture and institutional accountability.
Patrycja believes that the future of law lies in building systems that embed regulatory compliance directly into organisational processes. She is especially interested in privacy engineering, AI governance structures and the practical mechanics of implementing data protection obligations in regulated environments.
Yamini Lyer
Yamini is a second year Law LLB student motivated by questions of data privacy, access to justice, and data empowerment. Her interest in data began after a personal digital detox, which revealed how dependent everyday life has become on unseen data systems and how little most people understand them.
Yamini was also inspired by the story of Shanti Devi, a woman from rural India who gained financial independence after receiving a digital ID that allowed her to access wages and pensions directly, shaping Yamini’s belief that data empowerment is “not just about technology, it is about fairness, and giving people the ability to transform their lives.”
Yamini sees the Clinic as “a unique opportunity to turn these ideas into action,” and is especially keen to work at the intersection of law, technology, and governance to protect rights and expand opportunities for communities that have long been left behind.
In the past, Yamini has worked to support individuals who lost their homes in a typhoon, where she shared it equipped her with “the emotional intelligence, patience, and respect and sensitivity” required when working with vulnerable communities.
Meet our supervisor
Marilyne Ordekian
Marilyne is finishing her Ph.D. at UCL Centre for Doctoral Training in Cybersecurity and is also a qualified lawyer.
Her interdisciplinary research, funded by the EPSRC, spans two key themes at the intersections of law, cybersecurity, and technology.
The first focuses on the cryptocurrency ecosystem, where she develops methods to empirically quantify regulations and measure platform compliance and self-governance. She also empirically investigates emerging cryptocurrency crimes, with pioneering research on wrench attacks and pig butchering scams.
The second research theme explores the applications of AI in law, examining the emerging privacy and security issues that arise from its use