The Academy 2023 Cohort

Eilidh Bowman completed her undergraduate degree in Philosophy at The University of Glasgow (2019). For her undergraduate dissertation she studied the issues with programming ethical codes into AI machines. Wanting to explore the relationship between technology and ethics further she went on to complete her masters in Digital Media and Culture at The University of Edinburgh (2020).
Eilidh’s previous research in AI ethics and philosophy will help inform her research project where she will attempt to identify and resolve the ethical challenges with using AI to help assist older people within the community.

Supervisors: Prof John Vines (School of Informatics), Dr Giulia De Togni (School of Population Health Sciences).

Work packages:  Understanding The Person In Context, Integrated technologies of care
 

Elisa Cardamone has a BA (Hons) in Archaeology and Anthropology form the University of Manchester and an MSc in Medical Anthropology from the University of Oxford, where she focused on implanted devices, new sensory experiences, and the body’s somatechnical construction. As a medical anthropologist working across design and engineering, Elisa is interested in technology's potential to reshape communities by creating new meanings, practices, and choices while ageing at home.

Elisa is an affiliate of the Centre for Technomoral Futures

Supervisors: Dr Arno Verhoeven (School of Design), Prof Ian Underwood (School of Engineering), Prof John Vines (School of Informatics), Ms Bettina Nissen (Edinburgh College of Art)

Workpackage: Integrated Technologies of Care
 

Ellen Falkingham has an MPhil in Medical Anthropology from the University of Oxford, where her research used mixed methods to explore the impact of exposure to others mortality on risk perception and health behaviours, with a particular focus on 'pandemic fatigue' and the Covid-19 pandemic. She also has a BA in Classical Civilisations from the University of Durham and professional experience in the FinTech industry. She is also a member of The Groups Network, a UKRI FLF Development Network Research Group. Ellen has research interests in using both qualitative and quantitative methods to better understand the relationships between social identities, community, health behaviours and outcomes.

Supervisors: Dr Alan Marshall (School of Social and Political Science), Dr Sue Lewis (School of Health in Social Science), Prof Jamie Pearce (School of Geosciences), Prof Niamh Shortt (School of GeoSciences).

Work package: Understanding The Person In Context, Data-Driven Insight and Prediction

Emilie McSwiggan has spent ten years working in policy development and politics, with a particular interest in health and social care, social welfare, and disability. She completed her Master of Public Health (MPH) online at the University of Edinburgh, and has worked as Project Manager for UNCOVER (the Usher Network for COVID-19 Evidence Reviews) for the past two years.

Supervisors: Professor Stewart Mercer (School of Population Health Sciences), Dr Jackie Gulland (School of Social and Political Science), Prof Amy O’Donnell (Faculty of Medical Sciences, Newcastle University), Dr Eddie Donaghy (School of Population Health Sciences), Dr Emma Davidson (School of Social and Political Science)

Workpackage: New Models of Care
 

Jack Robertson has a MA (Hons) in Politics from the University of Edinburgh and an MSc in Public Policy and Management from the University of Glasgow. He has an interest in organisational change and technological transitions within the context of health and social care. His prior research has been informed by Science & Technology Studies (STS) and focused on the data governance models being promoted by national governments across Europe.

Supervisors: Prof Robin Williams (School of Social and Political Science), Prof Kathrin Cresswell (School of Population Health Sciences) and Prof Stuart Anderson (School of Informatics)

Work package:  Integrated technologies of care
 

Junyu Yan has a BEng in Telecommunication Engineering from Xidian Univeristy in China, and an MSc in Communications and Signal Processing from Imperial College London. Before joining ACRC, Jun worked as an AI algorithm engineer at Huawei for one year. Her research will focus on causality, and how it relates to social care decisions.

Supervisors: Prof Sotirios Tsaftaris (School of Engineering), Prof Ewen Harrison (School of Population Health Sciences), Dr Sohan Seth (School of Informatics).

Work package: Data-Driven Insight and Prediction
 

Kayla Ostrishko has a B.A. in Psychology with a Minor in Health in Society from Rutgers-New Brunswick. She recently completed her MRes in Population Health Sciences at The University of Edinburgh. She is interested in examining the influence of systemic racism and its relationship to medical care services within the NHS, refugee and asylum seeker health experiences, and Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) within University systems. Kayla is also a committee member of the CMVM EDI committee as a postgraduate research representative and has worked on multiple projects within the University focusing on EDI initiatives within STEM.

Supervisors: Dr Gwenetta Curry (School of Population Health Sciences), Dr Georgia Cole (School of Social and Political Science), Dr Ingrid Young (School of Population Health Sciences)

Workpackage: Understanding the Person in Context
 

Maxmillan Ries has a MSc in Computing Science and AI from the Technical University Delft and a BSc in Computing Science from the University of Groningen. During his studies, Max also worked as a Data Scientist for UReason, a company which develops predictive maintenance tools for the manufacturing industry. His research centres on clustering chronic conditions and modelling their correlations, with a specific focus on predicting the trajectories of multimorbid outcomes.

Supervisors: Dr Sohan Seth (School of Informatics), Prof Bruce Guthrie (Centre for Population Health Sciences), Prof Paolo Missier (School of Computer Science, University of Birmingham), Mr Ewen Harrison (Centre for Population Health Sciences)

Workpackage: Data-Driven Insight and Prediction
 

Michaela Gilarova has a BSc (Hons) in Neuroscience from the University of St Andrews. She has a balanced interest in studying the biological and cognitive changes associated with ageing and understanding older adults’ lived experiences. Through research internships, she developed skills in applying virtual reality and non-invasive brain stimulation in neuroscience and mental health research. Michaela also worked in care homes, gaining insights into dementia care and the importance of person-centredness. Her PhD project, at the intersection of clinical medicine and psychology, will investigate the link between sleep disturbances and delirium in older people.

Supervisors: Dr Maria Gardani (School of Health in Social Science), Prof Alasdair MacLullich (Centre for Population Health Sciences), Prof Gillian Mead (School of Population Health Sciences), Prof Tughrul Arslan (School of Engineering), Dr Atul Anand (School of Neurological and Cardiovascular Sciences).

Work package:  Integrated technologies of care
 

Zixuan (Melody) Wang holds a double-degree master's in Product-Service System Design from Tongji University in China and Politecnico di Milano in Italy, along with a Bachelor of Engineering in Furniture Design from Nanjing Forestry University in China. After graduation, she worked as an experience designer for the autonomous delivering service in Alibaba.Inc. Her research spans co-design, service design, human-computer Interaction, human-robot Interaction, and design ethics with a passion for bridging the gap between technology and humanity through design and multidisciplinary approaches.

Supervisors: Prof John Vines (School of Informatics), Prof Katie Brittain (Faculty of Medical Sciences, Newcastle University), Dr Cara Wilson (Moray House School of Education and Sport), Dr Alex Taylor (School of Informatics)

Work package: Understanding The Person In Context, Integrated technologies of care