Dr Róisín McNaney
Digital Health ResearcherMonash University
How we interact with technology has changed so much in recent years, from asking your smart speaker to play your favourite music or add an item to your shopping list, to receiving reminders from your smartwatch to move around because you've been sitting too long. We often take these conveniences for granted, but imagine how transformative they could be for someone with a health condition affecting their mobility or motivation.
Róisín's research explores how new and emerging technologies-such as smart home devices, mobile phone sensors, and AI tools-can support people with brain and mental health conditions. By working closely with health communities she co-designs new ways of engaging with these technologies, ensuring innovations are responsibly developed to encourage participation for diverse populations.
Róisín is a Senior Lecturer at Monash University's Faculty of IT. She leads Action Lab: Australia, a research group focusing on impact-led research with communities, and is Director of the Next Generation of AI Graduates in Mental Health program. She has won multiple best paper (2014) and honourable mention (2015, 2022) awards for her research at the world leading conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems and has received over $32 million of research funding across her career.