Interdisciplinary Lightning Talks with MDFI PhD Students

In this edition, being hosted as Lightning Talks, we will highlight the interdisciplinary research being done by some of the Monash Data Futures Institute's (MDFI) PhD students.

Speakers

Pranita Shrestha's PhD project is on “Context aware interventions for eating disorder prevention and improved body image”, along with the Faculty of Information Technology’s Department of Human-Centred Computing and Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences.

Traditionally, body image concerns were considered to be a "Western society" issue, especially centred around White women. As such, most of the digital interventions for body image have mainly been focused on them. Society and culture are one of the building blocks of body image perception, so a need to move away from a "One Size Fits All" approach is required. By tailoring interventions to consider individuals' culture, specific preferences, needs and circumstances, personalisation can provide more effective and targeted solutions for body image concerns. Pranita will share her research in her talk titled "One Size (Doesn't) Fit All: Personalising digital interventions for body image".

Bhanuka Gamage’s PhD project is building "AI-enabled smart glasses for people with severe vision impairments”, as part of a collaborative team involving the Faculty of IT, Faculty of Engineering, and Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences.

Over the last decade, there has been significant research on how smart assistive devices with artificial intelligence (AI) built into them can assist people with severe vision impairments to comprehend their surroundings. Smart glasses have gained popularity lately due to recent technological advancements, as well as their natural position in front of the user's eyes. Bhanuka's research involves the development of smart-glass application prototypes through iterative case studies with individuals who are blind, have low-vision, and have cerebral vision impairment (CVI).

Vidushani Dhanawansa’s PhD project is on ‘Brain imaging and predicting neuropharmacological effects via EEG’ which will be designed to gauge levels of responsiveness to anaesthetic and psychedelic drugs, in collaboration with the Faculty of Information Technology and the Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences

The study of measurable brain responses to drug-induced stimuli using brain imaging techniques (such as EEG) has a significant scope for improvement. Vidushani's talk will provide an overview of techniques for predicting how the brain reacts to painful stimuli under exposure to anaesthetic drugs whilst under surgery, and naturalistic stimuli in the context of psychedelic drugs. It explores strategies to improve our understanding and prediction of these intricate brain responses.

Monash Data Futures Institute

As the gateway to Monash University’s excellence in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and data science research, the Monash Data Futures Institute (MDFI) aims to foster transnational, interdisciplinary collaborations in the applications of AI and data science for good. The Institute brings together leading cross-disciplinary expertise, international partnerships and one of the largest cohorts of AI and data science researchers in the Asia-Pacific. MDFI researchers focus on advanced AI applications for health sciences, sustainable development, and governance & policy in support of Monash University’s three Global Challenges of the age: thriving communities, climate change and geopolitical security.

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Event Venue

15 Innovation Walk, Room G19, Melbourne, Australia

Concerts, fests, parties, meetups - all the happenings, one place.

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