PhD Studentship: Multimodal detection system for neurodegenerative decline

Application deadline

22 May 2026

Start date

1 October 2026

This studentship is based in the College of Arts, Technology and Environment.

This PhD aims to develop a low‑cost, multimodal system for early detection of neurodegenerative decline by monitoring everyday behaviours. Subtle changes in attention, visuospatial ability, and motor control can appear years before dementia, but current assessment methods rely on lab-based tasks and specialised equipment, limiting their usefulness for long‑term, at‑home monitoring.

The project will create a smartphone/tablet-based platform that integrates calibration‑free eye tracking, touchscreen interactions, inertial sensing, and simple daily tasks such as reading, tapping games, short walks, and object manipulation. By collecting longitudinal data, the system will learn personalised behavioural profiles and use multimodal deep learning to identify sensitive digital biomarkers that capture cognitive–motor interactions.

Research goals include:

• designing ecologically valid tasks
• enabling privacy‑preserving, at‑home data capture with ubiquitous sensors
• developing multimodal machine‑learning models
• refining tasks through Human–AI feedback and patient/public involvement.

The work builds on strong preliminary results in eye tracking, game‑based assessment, and multimodal datasets, supported by clinical and industry partners. Expected outputs include a validated monitoring platform, high‑quality datasets, leading publications, and a pathway to clinical translation, ultimately enabling earlier detection of decline and more timely interventions.

For more information about this studentship please contact Professor Lyndon Smith at Lyndon.Smith@uwe.ac.uk.

Funding

The studentship is available from 1 October 2026 for a period of three years, subject to satisfactory progress and includes a tax-exempt stipend, which is currently £20,780 (2025/26) per annum.

In addition, full-time tuition fees will be covered for up to three years (Home).

How to apply

Please submit your application online. When prompted use the reference number 2627-OCT-CATE12. 

Application deadline

The closing date for applications is 22 May 2026.

Supporting documentation

You will need to upload your research proposal, all your degree certificates and transcripts and a recognised English language qualification is required.

You will need to provide details of two referees as part of your application.

Interview dates

It is expected that interviews will take place on weeks commencing June. If you have not heard from us by July, we thank you for your application but on this occasion you have not been successful.

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