4 PhD positions available

Applications are sought from candidates interested in pursuing a PhD focused on the design of new technologies to support mental health interventions for young people.

Application deadline: 1st February 2017
Location: University College Dublin.

The programme of research in which the PhD candidate will engage forms part of the TEAM (Technology-Enabled Mental Health for Young People) ITN programme. TEAM is funded by the European Commission through its Marie Sklowdowska Curie programme: http://www.team-itn.ucd.ie/

The TEAM network will fund 15 PhD studentships in all, with four of these studentships based at University College Dublin.

Benefits:
The successful candidates will receive a gross annual salary of approximately €32,000. They will also be entitled to a mobility allowance of approximately €6,000 per annum and potentially a family allowance where appropriate. The duration of the contract will be 3 years as a fully funded PhD (although the PhD programme can take up to 4 years to complete).

The positions at UCD cover topics including computer gaming and mental health, online communities, and ethical and policy issues. We are seeking excellent and ambitious candidates from a range of backgrounds including Human Computer Interaction, Computer Science, Psychology and Health Sciences.

Informal Enquiries:
Informal enquiries about these positions may be made to Dr David Coyle, d.coyle@ucd.ie

Please follow the link below for further details of each project and also details of how to apply.

TEAM project 11: Adaptable games and gamification to support youth mental health interventions
http://www.team-itn.ucd.ie/?page_id=354

TEAM project 9: Integrated computer games and mobile apps to support structured delivery of mindfulness-based CBT in Schools
http://www.team-itn.ucd.ie/?page_id=328

TEAM project 4: Intelligent techniques to support online mental health communities and stepped care
http://www.team-itn.ucd.ie/?page_id=341

TEAM project 15: Ethics, privacy and service users rights in technology-enabled mental health services
http://www.team-itn.ucd.ie/?page_id=362

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Sample reading:

Tunney, C., Cooney, P., Coyle, D. & O’Reilly, G. (2016) Mindful Gnats: Comparing Young People’s Experience of Technology-Delivered versus Face-to-Face Mindfulness and Relaxation. British Journal of Psychiatry.

Coyle, D., Thieme, A., Linehan, C., Balaam, M., Wallace, J. & Lindley, S. (2014) Emotional Wellbeing, International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, 72(8–9), 627-628.

Doherty, D., Coyle, D., & Sharry, J. (2012) Engagement with Online Mental Health Interventions: An Exploratory Clinical Study of a Treatment for Depression. ACM CHI 2012, pp 1421-1430.

Coyle, D., McGlade, N., Doherty, G. & O’Reilly, G. (2011) Exploratory Evaluations of a Computer Game Supporting Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Adolescents. ACM CHI 2011, pp2937-2946.

IE Unit launches

Together with Ian Craddock, I will be leading the Data Capture theme within a new Integrative Epidemiology Unit (IEU) at the University of Bristol.

The new unit has received £23million research funding and will exploit the latest advances in genetics and digital data capture to improve understanding of how changes to lifestyle or environment, as well as pharmacological interventions, can reduce the risk of disease. The unit is jointly funded by the Medical Research Council … Read More →

SPHERE

I will be leading the User-centred Design activities within SPHERE, an interdisciplinary research collaboration (IRC) led by the University of Bristol together with the Universities of Southampton and Reading, has been awarded a grant by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) of £12 million. They will work in partnership with Bristol City Council, IBM, Toshiba and Knowle West Media Centre (KWMC).

The collaboration, known as SPHERE (Sensor Platform for HEalthcare in a Residential … Read More →

CHI 2013 Honorable Mention

The paper “Using Crowdsourcing to Support Pro-environmental Community Activism” received a Best Paper Honorable Mention at CHI 2013. The full paper is available here.

CHI 2012 honorable mention

Our paper “I did that! Measuring Users’ Experience of Agency in their own Actions” received a Best Paper Honorable Mention at CHI 2012. The full paper is available here: DOI link.

SilverCloud Health wins ISA award

Big congratulations to the SilverCloud Health team who won the “Most investable business” award at the ISA/IVCA Software Investment Forum on Friday!

During my post-doc at Trinity College Dublin I worked with Dr Gavin Doherty, Dr John Sharry and James Bligh on the initial Silvercloud system. The aim was to develop a platform that could provide computer supported interventions for people experiencing mental health difficulties.

It’s great that the SilverCloud system now has the chance … Read More →

Bristol @ CHI

There will be a pretty big group of researchers from the Bristol Interaction and Graphics group at CHI this year. Overall the group have had 7 full papers accepted.

CHI papers

I’ve had two full papers accepted for CHI 2012. The first covers recent work on how people experience a sense of agency when interacting with technology: Coyle, D., Moore, J., Kristensson. P.O., Fletcher, P.C. and Blackwell, A.F. ‘I did that! Measuring users’ experience of agency in their own actions.’

The second is more clinically focused. It describes the design and evaluation of on online intervention for people having difficulties with depression: Doherty, G., Coyle … Read More →

gNats Island discussed in Irish Times

The Irish Times has an article today discussing gNats Island, the CBT computer game we developed to support mental health interventions for adolescents. The article is available online:

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/sciencetoday/2011/1208/1224308739191.html

Over 500 mental health professional have now received training in the gNats Island intervention, thanks mainly to the work of Dr Gary O’Reilly.

Interaction Design and Emotional Wellbeing @ CHI 2012

Our proposal for a workshop on Interaction Design and Emotional Wellbeing at CHI 2012 has been accepted. The workshop will be held on May 6th in Austin Texas. Full details and the call for participation are available at the workshop website. Should be an interesting day.