Media
A selection of research features in national newspapers, and media interviews, on the topics AI bias, cybersecurity and tech-abuse/online harms. Please reach out via the Contact page for media requests.
Interview & Research Feature in The Doctor magazine - "Cybersecurity: cracks in the system" (BMA, The Doctor, 2024)
In this article in The Doctor magazine, I discussed the challenges of defending the NHS from cyberattacks, highlighting the domain-specific issues present in healthcare. The article features some of my recent work at UC San Diego, examining the patient-level impacts of ransomware.
Generative AI: UNESCO study reveals alarming evidence of regressive gender stereotypes (UNESCO Press Release, 2024)
On International Women's Day, our research on AI and Gender from a UNESCO study was showcased in this international press release. The project revealed worrying tendencies in Large Language models (LLM) to produce gender bias, as well as homophobia and racial stereotyping.
UNESCO Study Exposes Gender and Other Bias in AI Language Models (CEPIS, 2024)
This press release from the Council of European Professional Informatics Societies (CEPIS) publicised our research with the UN, exposing the biases embedded within Large Language Models (LLMs), including widely used platforms like GPT-3.5 and GPT-2 by OpenAI, and Llama 2 by META. The work was also released in UCL News here.
AI Will Soon Be Everywhere in the NHS. It’s a Risk for Women and Ethnic Minorities, Experts Say (iNews, 2022)
Feature in the Independent, highlighting research that exposed demographic disparities in the performance of healthcare algorithms. My research has shown sex-based biases in ML models used in the prediction of cardiac disease and liver cancer (link)
“I am yet to meet a young person that has not experienced some form of abuse via tech"(Bentham Gaze, 2022)
A blog post detailing our ongoing research with NHS Emergency Departments, where we seek to improve existing clinical safeguarding guidelines to account for the risks of digitally-mediated harms and tech-abuse.
Gender bias revealed in AI tools screening for liver disease (UCL News, 2022)
Our research was featured in this UCL press release, which highlighted our findings that Artificial intelligence models built to predict liver disease from blood tests were twice as likely to miss disease in women as in men. The full research article was published in British Medical Journal, Health & Care Informatics (available here).
The Doctor-AI Relationship: Medicine in a Digital World (Adventure Medic Magazine, 2022)
Our research was featured in this UCL press release, which highlighted our findings that Artificial intelligence models built to predict liver disease from blood tests were twice as likely to miss disease in women as in men. The full research article was published in British Medical Journal, Health & Care Informatics (available here).
Public Engagement
In addition to my research, I am the founder and director of the non-profit bleepDigital, which delivers public engagement and educational activities on the challenges emerging at the intersection of healthcare & intelligent technology. The photos featured below are from these events, including our recent "Tech back your bits" workshop hosted at the London Vagina Museum which delivered public demos on risks associated with FemTech hacking and AI Gender Bias (link here). I have also delivered talks at science festivals, arts venues and for secondary school students, including:
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“Broken brain chips and hacked pacemakers: meet the new diseases of the 21st century”. Evening talk at the UK Pint of Science Festival, The White Hart Pub, Mile End, London. May 2023.
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“Inequalities in Medical Artificial Intelligence” Invited lecturer for the Rosewell Lecture Series in London, in which speakers talk on a wide range of topics, that provide an opportunity for students in Year 9-13 to go beyond their academic syllabus
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“Don’t believe it… when you see it: Gender, tech-abuse and deepfakes”. Opening talk at the Science Fiction Cinema, Castle Cinema, Hackney, London. August 2022.
Photos below are from hackathons (e.g. MCH), DEFCON Tabletops, bleepDigital events (Tech back your bits), & UN events.
Awards & Grants
Awards:
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WISP Hacker Scholarship (2024): Granted by Women in Security and Privacy (WISP) to support my work at DEFCON, USA, leading a tabletop and presenting research on cybersecurity in internet-connected medical devices and digital forensics in post-mortem contexts.
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WeAreTechWomen Individual Award (2022): Recognized among the #TechWomen100 for exceptional contributions to the UK tech industry. This national competition featured over 1,000 applicants, with winners selected through public and expert panel votes.
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Outstanding Contribution to the Public Sector Award (2022): Presented by the Women in IT UK Summit and Awards for groundbreaking research and policy development in Healthcare Artificial Intelligence.
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Rising Star in AI Ethics (2021): Featured on the Women in AI Ethics 100 Brilliant Women list for exposing harmful stereotypes and demographic biases in healthcare-related machine learning models.
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Best Research Poster Award (2020): Granted by the UK AI Scholars (Joint Centre for Doctoral Training in AI) for research titled "Addressing Bias in Cardiological Artificial Intelligence.
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Health Leadership Academy Inspiration Award (2020): Celebrated as one of the 100 Inspirational Women in Leadership for contributions to healthcare innovation and leadership in the UK.
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Emergency Medicine Innovation Prize (2022): Awarded by the Royal Society of Medicine for research into digital harms in Emergency Departments, a competitive accolade recognising advancements in acute medicine and patient care.
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Early Career Researcher Award (2022): Recognised by the Violence, Abuse, and Mental Health Network for pioneering research on technology-facilitated abuse in Emergency Departments. This award supported further research, training, and conference participation.
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Fulbright ‘All Disciplines Award’ (2018): A globally competitive fellowship awarded by the UK Fulbright Commission for academic excellence and ambassadorial leadership, supporting study and cultural exchange in the United States.
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Thouron Award (2018): A prestigious international scholarship granted by the Thouron UK Commission to six UK graduates annually, recognizing outstanding leadership potential and academic achievement.
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BEST Scholarship Award (2018): Granted by the BUNAC Educational Scholarships Trust to up to five UK postgraduates annually, providing funding for postgraduate study in the United States.