PhD position at Computer Vision Center funded by the TOUCH COFUND project

14 Mar 2024
Job Information

Organisation/Company

Computer Vision Center (CVC)

Research Field

Computer science

Researcher Profile

First Stage Researcher (R1)

Country

Spain

Application Deadline

30 Jun 2024 - 23:59 (Europe/Madrid)

Type of Contract

Temporary

Job Status

Full-time

Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme?

H2020 / Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions COFUND

Reference Number

101126533

Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure?

No

Offer Description

Topic: Leveraging Artificial Intelligence for Mental Health Support

A PhD position is available at the Artificial Intelligence and Data Science Research Group from the Computer Vision Center and Cognitive and Affective Science Laboratory- Dept. of Clinical and Health Psychology-Institute of Neurosciences from Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona under the supervision of Diana Ramírez (Data Science), Lorena Chanes , (Clinical and Health Psychology-Neuroscience) and Jordi Gonzalez (Artificial Intelligence). We are looking for a highly motivated candidate that will investigate and to develop AI-based solutions to enhance mental health care, addressing the need for accessible and effective resources.

Key focus areas include:

1.         Supportive AI Chatbots & Early Detection Algorithms: Developing AI chatbots for initial mental health support and guidance, complementing professional care. Also, creating algorithms to identify early mental health concerns, aiding specialists in early intervention.

2.         AI-Assisted Personalized Care Recommendations: Creating AI systems to analyze health records and user inputs, helping healthcare professionals craft personalized treatment plans, thereby improving care effectiveness.

3.         Data Security in Mental Health Tech: Ensuring high data privacy and security standards in digital health tools used by professionals and patients, contributing to the ethical application of technology in sensitive health areas.

4.         AI Tools for Therapeutic and Community Support: Developing AI-driven assistants and community analysis tools to support therapists and counselors. These tools aim to provide tailored therapy and maintain constructive online support environments.

5.         Designing Intuitive Interfaces for Health Tech Tools: Creating user-friendly interfaces for digital health applications to assist mental health professionals, making these tools more accessible and effective in therapeutic settings.

6.         Understanding human cognition and affective experience in health and disease: we will use the lens of predictive processing, particularly in the field of emotion, social perception, and creativity, which are heavily related to mental health, in combination with AI to better understand human experience.

Participating in this research offers valuable opportunities in academia and industry, building skills and experiences in AI for mental health, a field of growing importance in tech companies, healthcare organizations, and research institutions

The successful candidate will be enrolled in the Computer Science doctoral program at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) in the framework of the TOUCH project. TOUCH (“Towards the next generatiOn of excellent yoUng doctoral researchers on mental health by developing an intersectoral & transdisciplinary approaCH”) is a new excellent doctoral programme co-funded by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie (MSCA) Actions of the European Commission and led by the UAB for the recruitment and training of 24 doctoral candidates in the field of mental health and wellbeing.

The present PhD project is a truly transdisciplinary proposal involving two groups of research:

1)         The AI and Data Science Research Group is a multidisciplinary team of experts at the Computer Vision Center (UAB) and the University of Barcelona united to harness tech for societal benefit. The team includes specialists in artificial intelligence, machine learning, data analysis, and mental health. They specialize in creating AI solutions for predictive tasks, text analysis, and tailored treatment approaches, seeking to enhance mental health care using AI- driven methods.

2)         The Cognitive and Affective Science Laboratory , led by Lorena Chanes, is a research group at the Department of Clinical and Health Psychology-Institute of Neurosciences. Their research focuses on cognitive and affective processes that ultimately lead to conscious experience and how they relate to mental health. They have a multidisciplinary approach including behavior, non-invasive brain stimulation and neuroimaging.

We are looking for candidates with an excellent CV, ahigh degree of ambition and motivation, and with good personal qualities to work in our Team. We offer a 3-year full-time contract (37,5 hours/week) and a gross salary of 2.375 €/month (the salary will be the same for the 3 years).

The candidates must fulfil the following eligibility criteria from the EC: Mobility rule: candidates must not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in Spain for more than 12 months in the 36 months immediately preceding the deadline for the programme call. Experience rule: researchers must be doctoral candidates at the date of recruitment, i.e. not already in possession of a doctoral degree at the deadline of the open calls. Researchers who have successfully defended their doctoral thesis but have not yet formally awarded the doctoral degree will not be considered eligible. Candidates must hold a degree that allows admission to the official doctoral programme at UAB.

Additional requirements for a stronger application are:

Academic Requirements:

• Master’s degree in Computer Science, Mathematics, Data Science, AI, or a related field.
• Notions in Psychology/Psychiatry may be beneficial.
• Prior experience in conducting research is essential (Master’s thesis, participation in research projects, etc).

Preferred Skills and Learning Opportunities:

• Programming languages such as Python or R are needed.
• Knowledge of machine learning algorithms and libraries (like TensorFlow or PyTorch).
• Experience with Natural Language Processing (NLP) is highly desirable. Experience in fine-tuning and applying Large Language Models, such as ChatGPT or LLAMA, is highly valued.
• Skills in data preprocessing, analysis, and visualization are important.
• Ability to teamwork
• An understanding of ethical considerations in AI and data privacy is essential.

Interested applicants are encouraged to contact the investigators for further information ([email protected] , [email protected] , [email protected] )

Interested applicants should apply through the TOUCH online platform by submitting a full CV, a motivation letter, two letters of recommendation and academic and English level certificates. The call will be open from the 1st of April to the 30th of June 2024. More information about the TOUCH project, the recruitment process, and the application platform are available on the TOUCH website .

 

Requirements

Research Field

Computer science

Education Level

Master Degree or equivalent

Languages

ENGLISH

Level

Excellent

Additional Information
Work Location(s)

Number of offers available

1

Company/Institute

Computer Vision Center (CVC)

Country

Spain

Geofield

Where to apply

Website

https://webs.uab.cat/touch/

Contact

State/Province

Barcelona

City

Cerdanyola del Vallés

Website

http://www.cvc.uab.es/

Street

Campus UAB

Postal Code

08193

E-Mail

[email protected]

STATUS: EXPIRED