# Adrian Raudaschl

> Senior Director of Product Management at Elsevier. Former NHS doctor turned AI product leader, building trustworthy research intelligence systems: Scopus AI, LeapSpace, RAG Fusion. Based in East London.

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## About

Dr Adrian Raudaschl is a physician turned product manager. He started out in Glasgow's NHS, rotating through general medicine, A&E, surgery, obstetrics, and gynaecology. Medicine taught him to stay calm under pressure, make evidence-based decisions, and always remember who you're serving.

Between shifts, he returned to programming for the first time since childhood, self-teaching Objective-C. Ward Round emerged, an app to help junior doctors prepare for stressful teaching sessions. It won him the Junior Doctor Representative of the Year Award from the Royal College of Physicians & Surgeons of Glasgow. More importantly, it was a turning point: technology could scale impact beyond one patient at a time.

From there, he joined Medikidz, where the team explained complex health concepts to children through superhero comics, digital games, and clinical trial adherence software. This chapter taught him how to adapt communication for any audience, whether a seven-year-old learning about chemotherapy or an executive trying to understand AI.

At Mendeley (part of Elsevier), he rebuilt Mendeley's search from the ground up, learning proper product management: A/B testing, cross-team collaboration, and onboarding flows that improved retention. This deep dive into search technologies proved invaluable for later AI work.

Today, he is a Senior Director of Product Management at Elsevier, leading LeapSpace, a research-grade AI workspace. He built the original Scopus AI prototype that became the foundation for the platform. LeapSpace won Best Generative AI Solution at the 2026 CODiE Awards, cited for its trust work: traceable citations, Trust Cards, and Claim Radar. From early GPT-2 experiments in 2020 to building production AI systems, he has focused on making AI genuinely useful for people doing real work. He holds multiple patents in retrieval-augmented generation and has worked on frameworks for AI transparency and ethics.

Guiding principle: "I still think about building products the way I thought about treating patients: figure out what's actually wrong before you act, and pay attention to what's in front of you."

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## Professional Experience

### Senior Director of Product Management, Elsevier (2020 - Present)
- Architect of the original Scopus AI prototype, a generative AI research platform now used by millions of researchers worldwide
- Leading LeapSpace, a research-grade AI workspace and the next evolution of Scopus AI, built on 100M+ Scopus records and 15M+ peer-reviewed full-text articles
- LeapSpace won Best Generative AI Solution at the 2026 CODiE Awards
- Multiple patents filed in retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) technologies, including RAG Fusion (divergent retrieval) and SeqRAG (sequential planning)
- Led transition to advanced vector search technologies
- Regular speaker on AI ethics, product strategy, and healthcare innovation
- Technologies: Python, GPT models, LLMs, RAG, Vector Search, Elasticsearch, Semantic Search

### Product Manager, Mendeley / Elsevier (2017 - 2019)
- Rebuilt Mendeley's search experience from scratch, improving acquisition and retention
- Focus on user experience, engagement, and onboarding optimisation
- Built "Paper of the Day" Chrome extension as side project using ML and Mendeley API
- Mastered A/B testing, cross-team collaboration, and data-driven product decisions

### Digital Director, Medikidz (2013 - 2017)
- Led digital strategy and product development for health education
- Created superhero comics, digital games, and AR experiences explaining complex medical concepts to children
- Pioneered augmented reality for insulin education before AR went mainstream
- Expanded reach to millions of kids worldwide

### Medical Doctor, NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde (2011 - 2013)
- Foundation Years across general medicine, A&E, surgery, obstetrics, and gynaecology
- Created award-winning Ward Round medical education app
- Won Junior Doctor Representative of the Year Award, Royal College of Physicians & Surgeons of Glasgow

### Education
- MBChB (Medical Degree), University of Glasgow

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## Blog Posts

### AI & Technology
- [The Relevance Trap](/blog/the-relevance-trap) (April 2026): Our retrieval systems are getting better at giving users what they ask for, and worse at giving them what they need. On Mendeley, Building 20, differential diagnosis, and the case for engineering friction back into our agentic tools.
- [The Accountability Gap](/blog/the-accountability-gap) (March 2026): AI makes it easy to produce work. The harder question is whether anyone is willing to own it. On delegation, abdication, and the practice of knowing what you actually think.
- [SeqRAG - Agents for the Rest of Us](/blog/seqrag-agents-for-the-rest-of-us) (October 2024): Building Faster, More Reliable Agents with Sequential Retrieval-Augmented Generation
- [Forget RAG, the Future is RAG Fusion](/blog/forget-rag-the-future-is-rag-fusion) (October 2023): The Next Frontier of Search: Retrieval Augmented Generation meets Reciprocal Rank Fusion and Generated Queries.
- [Building a Second Brain for Productivity](/blog/building-a-second-brain-for-product-management) (August 2020): Today we operate from a basis of knowledge, confidence and creativity to pull together insights and build successful products. Here, I want to share how creating a personal note-taking system can act as a catalyst for connecting knowledge and ideas that will save you time, enhance problem-solving and boost creative thought.
- [9 Coronavirus Research Trends using LDA and Topic Modelling](/blog/summarising-the-latest-research-on-coronavirus-with-nlp-and-topic-modelling) (March 2020): Inspired by all the COVID-19 pre-print research being made publicly available, I wanted to apply some data science skills and see if any trends were emerging. There were a few surprises.
- [Using Mendeley data to discover academic papers](/blog/weekend-project-building-a-chrome-app-to-discover-cool-academic-papers) (October 2019): I have a continuous fear of not staying informed. My reasoning is selfish - I want to know if there are academic papers out there I could…

### Product Management
- [A product manager's 48 reflections on 2025](/blog/a-product-managers-48-reflections-on-2025) (December 2025): and why I've been making Bob Dylan songs about Sonic the Hedgehog
- [A product manager's 24 reflections on 2024](/blog/a-product-managers-24-reflections-on-2024) (December 2024): and how to use tarot cards for sprint planning.
- [The dangers of Product Longtermism](/blog/the-dangers-of-product-longtermism) (January 2022): There are no guarantees the future will hold the same values as us, so what right do we have to encode ours upon them?
- [A product manager’s 56 best (and stolen) insights from 2021](/blog/a-product-managers-56-best-and-stolen-insights-from-2021) (December 2021): If you’re reading this, it means I succeeded in my mission to the future. What follows is a human year’s worth of data condensed into minutes.
- [Your Best Creative Work Is Just a Cognitive Walk Away](/blog/your-best-creative-work-is-just-a-cognitive-walk-away) (December 2021): Doing our best creative work sometimes means tricking ourselves into leaving our minds alone. Here are six things to try while walking to achieve this.
- [The curse of success](/blog/the-curse-of-success) (November 2021): Failure may be the most important part of the human experience. So why not run towards it?
- [Brainwashed by design](/blog/brainwashed-by-design) (September 2021): “All you young people are brainwashed by design”, calmly provoked my neighbour. Not quite the reaction I expected after proudly showing off my renovated bathroom.
- [How do you inspire your engineering team?](/blog/how-do-you-inspire-your-engineering-team) (August 2021): We don’t deserve the team we can’t inspire. Camaraderie, purpose, and appreciation need to be our priorities.
- [‘Working Backwards’ to finally make remote work… work](/blog/posts/working-backwards-to-finally-make-remote-work-work/) (July 2021): How Amazonian thinking and communication tools are turning me into a remote work optimist.
- [Ideas I copied to help steal more ideas](/blog/ideas-i-copied-to-help-steal-more-ideas/) (May 2021): Stealing ideas doesn’t have to result in imposter syndrome. If anything, copying helps reveal our most authentic selves.
- [How to Earn the Right to Argue](/blog/how-to-earn-the-right-to-argue) (April 2021): Designing an argument to inspire a change of perspective.
- [Team Names Are Not That Important](/blog/tactical-humor-for-work-and-pleasure) (March 2021): But by employing humour they can bring joy to the workplace and sometimes even make statements.
- [A product manager’s reflections for a better 2021](/blog/a-product-managers-reflections-for-a-better-2021) (December 2020): “Difficulty is what wakes up the genius” has become my mantra of 2020 (thanks Nassim Taleb). If that's true then what follows should be pure gold: a collection of my best reflections for a challenging year.
- [How product managers should understand users](/blog/how-product-managers-should-understand-users) (September 2020): The limited ways we have been taught to interpret the world also limits our ability to understand our users. Nobody has taught me how to do this, so I decided to explore some solutions.
- [Luck vs skill in determining product success](/blog/exploring-the-impact-of-luck-in-product-management) (July 2020): Is 10x product success merely arbitrary luck or based on merit? It’s a question that can torture even the most rational-minded product managers. But which should you focus on when victory is on the line?
- [A product manager’s guide for difficult conversations](/blog/a-product-managers-guide-for-difficult-conversations) (March 2020): How I structure difficult conversations that help my team build products and tackle internal politics.
- [Product Market Fit of the Mac Pro](/blog/product-market-fit-of-the-mac-pro) (June 2019): The difference between the trash-can Mac Pro and the recently announced 2019 Mac Pro in terms of product/market fit is a classic exercise in the lean canvas.
- [The China Tech Cold War From A Product Perspective](/blog/the-china-tech-cold-war-from-a-product-perspective) (June 2019): The ongoing U.S.-Chinese trade war represents a troubling reversal of decades of globalisation. One of the recent prominent victims is the…

### Philosophy & Culture
- [Innovation is Slowing Down](/blog/innovation-is-slowing-down) (October 2022): Innovation is a critical driver of economic growth, but major breakthroughs have been decreasing for decades. A look at the evidence, why it's happening, and what we might do about it.
- [Stepping out of disorder](/blog/posts/stepping-out-of-disorder) (February 2021): Our attitude to complexity is what determines our autonomy.
- [The Case Against Simplicity](/blog/the-case-against-simplicity) (February 2021): The Pursuit of Simplicity Only Serves to Manufacture Our Consent, Not Our Understanding.
- [My Tech, Books, Games, Apps and Movie Picks of 2020](/blog/best-tech-book-games-apps-movies-and-i-used-in-2020) (December 2020): No affiliate links. No financial incentives. Just my own beautiful biases for the best picks of 2020.

### Side Projects & Reviews
- [Dinnertime After Brexit: Seven No-Deal Recipes](/blog/dinnertime-after-brexit-seven-no-deal-recipes) (October 2019): What does a no-deal Brexit diet look, and more importantly, taste like?
- [Third Wave Disruption of the Italian Coffee Market](/blog/third-wave-disruption-of-the-italian-coffee-market) (April 2019): It's impossible to ignore Italy's innovations in coffee, but like all innovation growth curves, at some point disruption will come.
- [Your Genome As a Service (GaaS) — AncestryDNA, 23andMe and More](/blog/your-genome-as-a-service-gaas) (February 2019): Imagine finding your birth mother after 47 years or discovering that you’re related to a president. This is the promise of private DNA services.
- [Why I Built A Historical Cryptocurrency Trade Simulator (which you can use too)](/blog/why-i-built-a-historical-cryptocurrency-trade-simulator-which-you-can-use-too) (January 2018): I got into trading crypto around May 2017 after about a year of regular investing in a range of peer2peer (P2P) systems, commodities and…

### Health Education Comics
- [The Coronavirus Outbreak So Far and Why It's So Concerning [Comic]](/blog/the-coronavirus-outbreak-so-far-and-why-its-so-concerning-comic) (February 2020): The Coronavirus outbreak has been dominating headlines for the last few weeks. I am growing concerned with the increasing amount of panic...
- [Effects of Intermittent Fasting on Health, Ageing, and Disease [Comic]](/blog/effects-of-intermittent-fasting-on-health-ageing-and-disease-comic) (January 2020): I read an amazing NEJM review paper on the health impact of intermittent fasting over Christmas and really wanted to share its findings in an accessible way. 
What better way to do that than with a cartoon cat professor!
- [An Evidence-Based Guide to Nootropics and Cognitive Enhancement [Comic]](/blog/nootropics-and-cognitive-enhancement) (November 2019): After years of listening to people preach misinformed rubbish about nootropics and cognitive enhancement, I decided to do the responsible thing and write a comic to preach myself.

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## Projects

### Research Intelligence
- **Scopus AI Prototype** (2024): The prototype I built that became a generative AI research platform used by millions of researchers worldwide. Technologies: Python, GPT-3, LLM, RAG, Vector Search, Elasticsearch, Semantic Search.
- **RAG Fusion** (2023): Open-source methodology combining retrieval-augmented generation with reciprocal rank fusion and generated queries. 900+ GitHub stars and widely adopted across the AI community. [GitHub](https://github.com/Raudaschl/rag-fusion). Technologies: Python, RAG, LLM, Reciprocal Rank Fusion, Information Retrieval, Open Source.

### Discovery Tools
- **Paper Of The Day Chrome App** (March 2019): Discover mind-expanding academic research with each new tab. My weekend project that grew into a popular Chrome extension. Technologies: Chrome Extension, Mendeley API, Machine Learning, Unsplash API, JavaScript.

### Creative & Experimental
- **Sonic R Mod Maxxing** (April 2026) [in progress]: Reverse-engineering Sonic R (1997) on Apple Silicon. A tank-controls fix, a from-scratch track-format parser, and a working terrain and texture editor built across a few evenings. Technologies: Python, C++, Ghidra, Qt6, OpenGL, Reverse Engineering.
- **The Smart JIRA Sprint Planner** (2025): AI tool that transforms JIRA chaos into clear sprint goals. Built to save sanity and spark joy in planning meetings. Technologies: AI, Vector Databases, LLM, Clustering, Data Visualization, JIRA.
- **Art Map London** (2016-2020): Connecting Londoners to hidden art events across the city. A passion project born from love of code and culture. Technologies: Laravel, PHP, JavaScript, MySQL, Image Processing, Authentication.
- **Shrink - Ludum Dare 38 Game** (April 2017): Mind-bending puzzle game where you change size to solve rooms. Created in 48 caffeine-fueled hours for a game jam. Technologies: Unity, C#, Game Development, 3D, Game Jam.
- **Medikidz Explore** (2013-2017): Interactive medical education games teaching children about haemophilia and blood clotting through play. Built with Unity3D, augmented reality, and paper prototypes. Technologies: Unity3D, C#, Spine Animation, PHP, Canvas JS, Augmented Reality.
- **Visify SMS Service** (2017): Custom SMS system for a beauty business that boosted appointment attendance by 30%. Tech meets beauty in the real world. Technologies: Laravel, PHP, JavaScript, SMS API, MySQL, UI/UX.
- **Sonic Fusion Fan Game** (2003): The world's first 3D Sonic fan game, made before I could afford a console. A teenage dream that started my coding journey. Technologies: Dark Basic, Bryce 3D, Game Development, 3D Modeling, Level Design.

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## Connect

- Website: [adrianraudaschl.com](https://adrianraudaschl.com)
- LinkedIn: [linkedin.com/in/adrian-raudaschl-18501135](https://linkedin.com/in/adrian-raudaschl-18501135)
- GitHub: [github.com/Raudaschl](https://github.com/Raudaschl)
- Twitter: [@Raudaschl](https://twitter.com/Raudaschl)
- Newsletter: [Breaking Product on Substack](https://breakingproduct.substack.com)
- Medium: [araudaschl.medium.com](https://araudaschl.medium.com)