Supervisors: Dr Kirsty Roberts, Prof Lucas Nunes Viera, Prof Athene Lane, Dr Alba Realpe
Application deadline: 13 December 2026
Competition Funded PhD Project (Students Worldwide)
About the Project
This project explores how AI translation tools, like Google Translate and ChatGPT, can help make health research more inclusive for people from marginalised groups who face language barriers. It will investigate how researchers and communities experience these tools, examine concerns about accuracy and fairness, and work with local communities to develop practical guidance for using AI translation in clinical trials. The aim is to ensure that AI supports, not replaces professional translation, helping more people participate in health research safely and ethically.
Minoritised ethnic groups are often excluded in health research due to unmet language needs, including low first language literacy or limited English proficiency in English-dominant settings. While effective translation is essential to inclusive research, it is costly and time-consuming. For rarer languages, professional translation is often unavailable. Existing guidance on translation and interpretation in clinical trials remains limited with few regulatory standards/processes. AI technologies used for translation, such as Google Translate and ChatGPT are increasingly used in healthcare, but this use is largely going unnoticed and unregulated. These tools are widely available, inexpensive and easily accessible. They have the potential to increase access to information and reduce language barriers for populations who are under-served by current clinical trial practices. However, the use of any AI technology raises concerns around social justice as well as the practical concerns of the accuracy of AI translation. Unregulated and potentially misguided uses of these tools raise significant ethical and safety issues in clinical research. If these concerns can be adequately addressed, AI translation offers great promise by supporting (not replacing) professional translation and enabling information exchange to members of marginalised communities taking part in clinical trials.
Given the lack of knowledge and significant concerns associated with the use of AI technology in clinical trial research, this project aims to explore its appropriate use by:
- Investigating the AI translation tools currently being used by researchers and what are their experiences and views on their use.
- Understanding how marginalised groups perceive the use of AI translation in clinical trial research, and how do inaccuracies (including cultural insensitivity) affect trust and understanding.
- Co-producing a set of recommendations and guidance for researchers on using AI technology to support information exchange in clinical trial research
This project will work with local marginalised communities building on established collaborations and developing new collaborations with the Faculty of Arts. The research will include:
- A rapid scoping review of the current literature, NHS and higher institute policies/ recommendations on the use of AI technology to support professional translation in clinical research settings (skills developed in systematic reviewing)
- A survey and ethnographic approach (interviews, focus groups and observations) with clinical trial researchers to explore how AI translations are being used in clinical research and the experiences and acceptability of their use (skills in quantitative analysis and qualitative research)
- Participatory Action Research with under-served communities to i) understand their views and experiences on the use of AI technology to support professional translation in clinical trial research ii) Co-produce set of recommendations and/or guidance for clinical trial researchers (skills in Participatory Action Research, particularly in developing mutually beneficial relationships, and dissemination/ knowledge mobilisation)
How to apply
Before applying, please check the entry requirements.
Submit your application via the University of Bristol portal. Search for and then select ‘Clinical Sciences (PhD)’. Click ‘Apply’ for September 2027 start.
You must provide the following in your application:
- A CV
- Two referees (add to the Reference section of your application form)
- A personal statement highlighting your motivation for applying for this PhD, and any relevant experience and/or skills (maximum of one side of A4, font size 11). We are keen to support applicants from minority and under-represented backgrounds (based on protected characteristics) and those who have experienced other challenges or disadvantages. Please use your personal statement to ensure we can take these factors into account.
- Certificates and transcripts
- Enter the project title and the supervisor names as they appear on this advert in the Research section.
- A research statement/proposal is not required. You should upload a blank document in this section.
- In the funding section, choose ‘University of Bristol Scholarship’.
Incomplete applications will not be considered. Read the list above carefully and ensure you have uploaded all required documents by the deadline. If you have yet to complete your degree, please supply an interim transcript where possible.
You can find more information on how to prepare your application and what we are looking for at the “PhD Application Workshop” which will be held on Teams on Monday 23rd November at 2pm (GMT): PhD Application Workshop.
Applications will be shortlisted in January 2027 with interviews in February 2027. The anticipated start date for this scholarship is September 2027.
Please visit our website for more information on PhD opportunities in the Faculty of Health and Life Sciences.
Further enquiries
Project-specific queries: [contact details available in the full listing]
Application queries: [contact details available in the full listing]
Funding Notes
The University of Bristol is one of the most popular and successful universities in the UK, ranked 51st globally (QS 2026), top five in the UK for research (THE analysis of REF 2021), and 6th most targeted by UK employers (High Fliers 2026).
This is a four-year scholarship covering tuition fees, a UKRI-rate stipend (£21,805 in 2026/27, updated annually), and £2,100 annual research costs.
The scholarship is available to UK and International applicants. International candidates (including EU) will be required to cover the cost of their student visa, healthcare surcharge and other costs of moving to the UK.
