About the Project
OPEN TO HOME AND REPUBLIC OF IRELAND STUDENTS ONLY
This exciting PhD opportunity offers the chance to work at the intersection of neuroscience, cognitive science, and artificial intelligence (AI) to better understand and utilise intelligence in biological brains and in machines.
While cognitive and brain sciences have generated vast amounts of rich, complex data, unlocking their insights requires cutting-edge AI and machine learning (ML) techniques. Meanwhile, although artificial neural networks (ANNs) have powered recent AI breakthroughs, they still fall short in many respects — and the next leap forward may come from studying how biological brains function. This exciting nexus has been termed NeuroAI.
This PhD research will explore two key directions:
- Applying advanced AI/ML and other computational methods to brain and behavioural data to uncover the computational principles underlying intelligence in humans and animals.
- Designing novel AI algorithms inspired by brain functions, to enhance machine intelligence capabilities.
This research encompasses three specific topics:
I. Novel synaptic plasticity rules for efficient learning (supervisor: Dr. Cian O’Donnell);
II. AI for sensing the self: Neurotechnology for cognitive monitoring and decision-making (supervisor: Dr. Saugat Bhattacharyya);
III. Teaching AI to heal itself: Digital twins for self-maintaining brain-computer interfaces (supervisor: Professor Girijesh Prasad).
The PhD research will involve a mix of openly available datasets and proprietary data from Ulster University’s research labs and world-leading international collaborators.
This project is available in the Computer Science Research Institute and is tenable in the Faculty of Computing, Engineering and the Built Environment, at the Magee campus. The PhD researcher will be based at the Intelligent Systems Research Centre and become part of a vibrant, interdisciplinary environment, drawing on the strengths of Ulster’s Cognitive and Computational Neuroscience, Neurotechnology, AI/ML, and Computational Biology communities. The PhD researcher will gain training in:
- AI and ML
- Computational modelling of behaviour and brain function
- High-performance computing
- Applied mathematics and statistics
- Neuroscience and cognitive science
Ulster University provides a supportive and research-intensive environment, ranked 2nd in the UK for PhD researcher satisfaction, and home to one of the largest and most impactful Computer Science and Informatics research units in the country.
This project will shape the future of both AI and our understanding of the mind.
Funding Notes
OPEN TO HOME AND REPUBLIC OF IRELAND STUDENTS ONLY