Joy Egede
Joy Egede
Transitional Assistant Professor, School of Computer Science
I have always been interested in creating new technologies to solve real-world problems.
1. Describe your research topic in ten words or less?
Designing artificially intelligent (AI) healthcare technologies.
2. Now describe it in everyday terms?
Most health conditions, e.g., chronic pain and mental health, affect a person’s behavioural and physiological reactions, including speech, facial and body movements, heart rate and brain activity. I develop artificially intelligent healthcare technologies which learn how medical conditions alter behavioural activity and physiological responses and use this information to support the early detection and treatment of these health conditions.
3. What inspired you to pursue this research area?
I have always been interested in creating new technologies to solve real-world problems.
4. What are some of your day-to-day research and knowlege exchange (KE) activities?
Exploring new ways of solving existing and novel healthcare challenges with AI computing techniques and sharing findings through publications and public engagement activities. I also tutor students on the practical applications of Affective Computing technologies.
5. What do you enjoy most about your research and KE activities?
Developing exciting, creative and novel technology-driven solutions that have real-world applications.
6. How have you approached any challenges you’ve faced in your research/ KE activities?
Identifying potential challenges that could crop up in a project right from the onset and working out alternative pathways to achieving the project aim if they do happen.
7. What questions have emerged as a result of your recent work?
In some cases, two or more health conditions can co-occur (also known as comorbidity), and these conditions may have conflicting influences on a person's physiological and behavioural activity, which raises the question of 'how do we design effective AI technologies for co-morbid health conditions'?
8. What kind of impact do you hope your research will have?
The outcome of my research would contribute to improving the efficiency of healthcare delivery and the quality of life for many.
9. How do you link your research with your teaching?
I teach Affective Computing techniques and use examples from my research to show how these technologies can be used to design clinical decision support systems.
10. What one piece of advice would you give your younger, less experienced research self?
Don’t dwell too much on ‘what if it fails?’. Yes, you may miss it the first time or even a couple of times, but then you have gained resilience and a new experience. Step out, take on new challenges, learn new things and use the knowledge and skills to create a better world for all!