Bulletin No. 2, 2024

Of all the factors that matter in Zhao Ni’s research, the one she returns to the most is utility. “We are in the discipline of Engineering,” says the professor of Electronic Engineering, “and I think a shared value in this discipline is that we should develop useful technology.” This focus on utility most recently culminated in Professor Zhao’s proposal being chosen by the RAISE+ Scheme. Her research hopes to improve the detection of cardiovascular diseases (CVD), and funding from the scheme will support her team’s research on wearable medical devices that monitor vital signs, enabling personalised artificial intelligence (AI) to tell the user how their body is doing. If this sounds like it can replace a trip to the clinic, the professor is quick to stress that the use of AI will not threaten the medical profession. “Our goal isn't to replace doctors, but to offer more immediate help to patients, particularly those with CVD, who want to know their situation better. We also aim to equip doctors with more comprehensive information, so that they can better track and understand the progression of the disease.” ‘The more you interact with your own model…’ “I have always had engineering in my blood, in my genes,” says Professor Zhao. “I wanted to do physics more on the experimental side, you Ever the engineer, Professor Zhao looks into the mechanical components of her project 31