PhD Stipend Scholarship – Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences/Monash AI institute [AI-enabled personalised coaching for physical activity, sleep and health behaviour change]

PhD Stipend Scholarship – Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences/Monash AI institute [AI-enabled personalised coaching for physical activity, sleep and health behaviour change]

Job No.: 698722

Location: Clayton campus

Employment Type: Full-time

Duration: 3.5 years fixed-term appointment

Supervisory Team: Lead Supervisor – Prof. Emmanuel Stamatakis; Co-supervisors: A/Prof. Matthew Ahmadi

Collaborating Faculty/Team: Multidisciplinary team across the Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, the Faculty of Information Technology, and Monash Malaysia

Remuneration: Fully funded PhD Scholarship ($37,000 per annum). The stipend rate is indexed annually and published on the Monash University Graduate Research Stipend and Allowance Rates website.

The Opportunity:

This PhD stipend scholarship offers an outstanding opportunity for talented candidates to undertake interdisciplinary research within a cohort funded by the Monash AI Institute. The candidate will join a vibrant research team spanning medicine, health sciences, information technology, and behavioral science, with cross-institutional links to Monash Malaysia.

The PhD Project:

Project Title: AI-enabled personalised coaching for physical activity, sleep and health behaviour change

Project Description:

Digital behaviour change tools reach large populations cheaply, but most deliver generic advice and lose their users within weeks. Large language models and continuous wearable data now make genuinely personalised, context-aware coaching feasible for the first time, while raising real questions about safety, equity, engagement, and cultural fit.

The candidate will co-design and evaluate an AI coaching system that uses wearable-derived physical activity and sleep data to generate personalised, just-in-time support, including scalable sleep interventions. Potential research activities include:

• Developing prediction models for receptivity and lapse
• Conducting micro-randomised or n-of-1 trials
• Evaluating psychological mechanisms of engagement and motivation
• Testing whether the system performs equitably across cultural and language groups

Training spans intervention design, trial methodology, human-computer interaction, and applied machine learning.

Selection criteria:

Prospective applicants must satisfy Monash University PhD entry requirements as outlined in the Monash Graduate Research Admission Procedure, including:

• Open to domestic candidates (Australian citizen, New Zealand citizen, or permanent resident status).
• A bachelor’s degree of at least four years in a relevant discipline, which includes a research thesis or project, with a minimum overall average grade of an Honours degree equivalent to the First Class Honours Division A; OR
• A master's degree in a relevant discipline which includes a research thesis or project equivalent to at least 25 percent of one year of full-time study, with a minimum overall average grade of honours equivalent to the First Class Honours Division A; OR
• A qualification, or combination of qualifications and relevant professional or research experience, deemed equivalent by the Graduate Research Committee (or delegate).

Background or experience in digital health, behavioral science, physical activity/sleep research, machine learning, or human-computer interaction would be advantageous.

How to apply

We are seeking expressions of interest from qualified domestic candidates who wish to apply for this PhD opportunity. This position has a two-stage selection process:

Stage 1: Submit an Expression of Interest (EOI)

Candidates should contact the supervising researcher and include the following when submitting an EOI:

1. A cover letter not exceeding 500 words stating your suitability and research interest.
2. A curriculum vitae including peer-reviewed publications, conference presentations, and relevant research/work experience.
3. Scanned copies of academic transcripts.
4. Contact details of two academic and/or clinical referees.

Stage 2: Submit a PhD candidature application

Candidates whose EOI is successful will be invited to submit a full application for Monash PhD candidature.

Enquiries: Meghna Pathak (

Meghna.pathak@monash.edu

Closing Date: Submit your interest before 31 October

Supporting a diverse workforce