Zoomposium 46: DATE TO BE CONFIRMED
Published: 29 April 2026
Dr Raneem Knaj: ‘Can a Machine Hear Depression? Building Fairer AI Diagnostics Across Languages and Cultures’ Dr Graham Kerr: ‘The Sun’s Dynamic Atmosphere: studying fundamental physics via solar flares’ Dr Juan Zhang: ‘From Edge Computing to Distributed Intelligence: Enabling Scalable and Sustainable Networked Systems’
Speakers:
Dr Raneem Knaj, James Watt School of Engineering
‘Can a Machine Hear Depression? Building Fairer AI Diagnostics Across Languages and Cultures’
Speech-based AI systems for depression detection often report strong performance in controlled settings, yet fail in real-world clinical environments — particularly when applied to linguistically diverse populations. My research addresses this gap through two complementary directions: (1) clinical development of explainable AI models using real-world NHS post-operative speech data, and (2) investigation of how second-language (L2) speech affects acoustic markers associated with depression. By distinguishing genuine mental health signals from language-related variability, this work aims to develop robust, fair, and clinically interpretable diagnostic tools. I am particularly interested in collaborations spanning clinical research, multimodal AI, and real-world healthcare data integration.
Dr Graham Kerr, School of Physics & Astronomy
‘The Sun’s Dynamic Atmosphere: studying fundamental physics via solar flares’
My research, funded by a Royal Society URF, uses a combination of high-resolution multi-wavelength remote sensing observations, and radiation hydrodynamic numerical models, to probe energy and radiation transport during solar flares. Studying these dramatic events on the Sun lets us learn about various fundamental physical processes, such as particle acceleration, plasma physics, and radiation transfer. As well as performing research using current observations, I am actively involved in the development of new missions and concepts to improve our view of the Sun and other stars.
Dr Juan Zhang, James Watt School of Engineering
‘From Edge Computing to Distributed Intelligence: Enabling Scalable and Sustainable Networked Systems’
Dr Juan Zhang is a Lecturer in Autonomous Systems and Connectivity (ASC) at the University of Glasgow. Her research lies at the intersection of mobile edge computing, AI-driven networking, and intelligent connected systems, focusing on decision-making and resource management for scalable and sustainable networked systems. She is keen to collaborate with colleagues across engineering, computing science, and related disciplines, as well as external partners in industry and infrastructure sectors. Her vision is to develop distributed intelligent systems for next-generation networks, smart mobility and transportation systems, with a focus on securing interdisciplinary funding and advancing real-world, energy-efficient solutions.
First published: 29 April 2026
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