Trustworthy Human-Centred AI for Health and Society

Summary

Artificial Intelligence is increasingly embedded in healthcare, rehabilitation, public health and autonomous digital systems that directly affect people’s health, wellbeing, safety and everyday lives. As these technologies become more capable and autonomous, there is a critical need to ensure that AI systems are not only technically effective, but also trustworthy, explainable, secure, equitable and responsive to human needs.

The Human Centred Computing (HCC) research team at Ulster University invites applications for PhD research within the thematic area of Trustworthy Human-Centred AI for Health and Society. The theme brings together artificial intelligence, machine learning, digital health, sensing, cybersecurity and human-centred computing to develop intelligent technologies that work safely and effectively with and for people.

Applicants are invited to consider the following research directions:

Human Digital Twin for AI-Driven Adaptive Neurorehabilitation
Supervisory Chair: Dr Faisal Jamil

This PhD will explore the development of Human Digital Twins for next-generation personalised neurorehabilitation. The successful candidate will work with wearable and vision-based sensing, multimodal AI, digital twin modelling, and adaptive exergaming to create an intelligent rehabilitation system that learns from an individual’s movement and physiological data over time. The research will investigate how a continuously evolving Human Digital Twin can support safe and personalised adaptation of rehabilitation exercises, with the potential to enable more responsive and engaging rehabilitation in clinical and home-based settings.

Trustworthy and Human-Centred AI for Lead Exposure Screening in Children
Supervisory Chair: Dr Priyanka Chaurasia

This project will develop trustworthy, explainable and equitable AI approaches for childhood lead-exposure risk screening. Building on existing Screen4Lead research, it will investigate heterogeneous health, environmental, behavioural, demographic and socioeconomic data, with particular emphasis on explainability, fairness, generalisability and human-centred decision support for healthcare and public-health professionals.

Behavioural Governance, Sandboxing, Runtime Monitoring and Least-Privilege Identity for Non-Human Identities
Supervisory Chair: Professor Kevin Curran

This project will investigate trustworthy governance and security for non-human identities, including autonomous AI agents, service accounts and connected digital systems. Research will explore behavioural monitoring, anomaly detection, sandboxing, runtime assurance and least-privilege identity to enable increasingly autonomous AI-enabled systems to operate securely, transparently and responsibly.

Across these projects, candidates will have opportunities to investigate machine and deep learning, explainable and responsible AI, multimodal sensing, digital twins, adaptive intelligent systems, cybersecurity and human-AI interaction. Particular emphasis will be placed on technologies that are robust, secure, inclusive and capable of addressing real-world challenges.

Applications are welcomed from candidates with backgrounds in Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, Data Science, Cybersecurity, Software Engineering or related disciplines who are interested in developing innovative and trustworthy human-centred technologies with meaningful impact on health, wellbeing, safety and society.

Essential criteria

Applicants should hold, or expect to obtain, a First or Upper Second Class Honours Degree in a subject relevant to the proposed area of study.

We may also consider applications from those who hold equivalent qualifications, for example, a Lower Second Class Honours Degree plus a Master’s Degree with Distinction.

In exceptional circumstances, the University may consider a portfolio of evidence from applicants who have appropriate professional experience which is equivalent to the learning outcomes of an Honours degree in lieu of academic qualifications.

• Experience using research methods or other approaches relevant to the subject domain

Desirable Criteria

If the University receives a large number of applicants for the project, the following desirable criteria may be applied to shortlist applicants for interview.

• Applicants should hold, or expect to hold a First Class Honours Degree in a relevant subject area
• International applicants should hold, or expect to hold a relevant Masters Degree at a level equivalent to a distinction at Ulster
• Work experience relevant to the proposed project
• Track record of peer reviewed publications
• Experience of presentation of research findings

Equal Opportunities

The University is an equal opportunities employer and welcomes applicants from all sections of the community, particularly from those with disabilities.

Appointment will be made on merit.

Funding and eligibility

This project is funded by:

• Department for the Economy (DfE)
• Vice Chancellor's Research Scholarship (VCRS)

PhD scholarships are available for this project to all applicants worldwide, regardless of residency or domicile, and will cover:

• Tuition fees.
• A maintenance allowance of approximately £22,000 (exact rate is to be confirmed) per annum for three years, subject to satisfactory academic performance.
• A Research Training Support Grant (RTSG) of approximately £900 per annum.

Applicants who already hold a doctoral degree or who have been registered on a programme of research leading to the award of a doctoral degree on a full-time basis for more than one year, or part-time equivalent, funded from any source, including self-financing students, are NOT eligible to apply for an award.

Students in full-time employment are not eligible for an award.

Part-time PhD scholarships may be available at a 0.5 pro rata rate of the full-time scholarship, which would require a six-year registration period.

Due consideration should be given to financing your studies.

The University will award a successful candidate one of the following scholarships for the project, depending on the funding available at the time an admissions offer is made:

1. Department for the Economy (DfE) PhD Scholarships
2. Vice Chancellor’s Research Scholarships (VCRS)

Please note that the Terms and Conditions for scholarships are subject to change for 2027/28.