Funded research projects

There are three positions open at this time. Please check this page regularly.

Preventing Romance Fraud

Romance fraud is a form of social engineering, whereby fraudsters create a fake profile on dating platforms and strike up a relationship with their potential victims, with the end goal of conning individuals out of money. Romance fraud is a growing, particularly cruel form of cybercrime. Victims are left heartbroken, often facing financial ruin. Romance fraud has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, alongside other cybercrimes (Lallie et al., 2021). This surge in fraud has presented challenges for law enforcement dealing with this volume of cybercrime (Horgan et al., 2021). Although previous research has been conducted into the detection of fake profiles (Suarez-Tangil et al., 2019), more work is needed to support the decision-making processes of potential victims online.

The PhD project aims to develop a robust machine learning model to detect fraudster behaviour and applies existing theoretical frameworks and decision-making techniques to enable users to recognise fraudsters. Results will impact on society by keeping individuals safe online and informing the work of our project partners in law enforcement.

Applications and closing date: 29th October 2021

Applicants should submit through the Abertay University jobs page, submitting a personal statement of application detailing why you are interested in undertaking this project, and a CV.

Co-creating Performance and Play

This project seeks to examine the potential for play and games to support individual and communities in improving their well-being and social cohesion. The candidate will work with an existing community in Scotland, and through practice-based research will design and test playful interventions underpinned by creative co-creation processes within the community. The interventions will support the community to co-create an interactive experience and will also aim to examine how play can promote social connection and individual wellbeing.

The goal of the project is to research the potential of play, video games and arts participation to enhance engagement and well-being within the community. The main research question is: how can play and games support individual and communities in improving their well-being and social cohesion? The candidate will use games and performance production to explore alternative solutions for well-being and cohesion of communities and people. The candidate will rely on mixed qualitative methods, with a focus on adopting creative practice as a research method. There has been little research on how video games or performance can support well-being, especially from a participatory perspective, where players are directly involved in the co-design of the experiences.

Applications and closing date: 29th October 2021

Applicants should submit through the Abertay University jobs page, submitting a personal statement of application detailing why you are interested in undertaking this project, and a CV.

Investigating the influence of gender stereotypes

Gender stereotypes continue to influence the educational choices of young people, creating a gender imbalance in many school and university subjects, as well as subsequent career choices. These choices may be influenced by social learning, whereby individuals copy the behaviours of peers and older role models. The proposed project tests the impact of gender stereotypes and social learning on subject and career choices, using this data to shape interventions designed to encourage gender equity.

As stereotypes are culturally constructed, and gender imbalances in education and careers show cross-cultural variation. This work will focus primarily on gender imbalances in Scotland and their impact on corresponding views of young adults in Scottish schools and universities.

Applications and closing date: 29th October 2021

Applicants should submit through the Abertay University jobs page, submitting a personal statement of application detailing why you are interested in undertaking this project, and a CV.

A list of upcoming studentships will be displayed below when available.

• PhD Research Studentship: Investigating the potential of Extended Reality for alternative understandings of forced migration and devastated Middle Eastern Cultural Heritage Sites.
• PhD Research Studentship: Using avatars in investigative interviews with children.
• PhD Research Studentship: How do we best teach our children to be cyber secure?
• PhD Research Studentship: Machine learning to determine soil properties: a smartphone-based solution for stakeholders
• RLINCS PhD studentship: The effect of different types of omega-3 fatty acids on exercise capacity in the elderly
• RLINCS PhD studentship:Using Affective Computing to Create an Emotional Bond between Users and Virtual Agents for Enhanced Social Interaction
• R-LINCS PhD Studentship: Using VR to Investigate the Visual Features that Determine the Effectiveness of Disruptive Camouflage
• R-LINCS PhD Studentship: Eco-grief and community experiences of changing water practices in Malawi
• PhD Studentship: Seals as sentinels of antimicrobial resistance: mapping antimicrobial resistance genes in UK waters
• PhD Studentships: A 4D Virtual Tumour for Cancer Ecology.
• RLINCS PhD Research Studentships: Investigating the Chemistry of a Cold Smoking Process and its Impacts on Food Safety and Quality; Deep Learning Intrusion Detection System for the Internet of Things; Characterising fat tissue structure and function in grey seals, an animal model of extreme fat deposition and mobilisation, using novel in vivo and in vitro approaches; Applying the self-reference effect to improve children’s mathematical problem solving; Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) injury in female athletes.
• Master by Research Studentships in Mental Health Nursing: Various areas of research focus will be considered. 
• Master by Research Studentship: Developing a successful food new product development tool linking effective testing (using facial electromyography) with sensory attribute selection
• PhD Research Studentship: Exploiting yeast diversity in whisky fermentations for biocatalysis of desirable flavour compounds. 
• PhD Research Studentship: Evaluating the effect of plant species on soil carbonation flux
• PhD Research Studentship: Fluid-aerosol modelling of cloud evolution in substellar atmospheres (R-LINCS)
• Master by Research Studentship: Developing a successful food new product development tool linking effective testing (using facial electromyography) with sensory attribute selection
• MSc Research Studentship: Utilising crushed dolerite columns to stabilise unstable substrates using microbial-induced calcite precipitation (MICP): coupling ground improvement and climate mitigation - laboratory approach 
• Games and Media Facilitated e-Learning 
• Developing a successful new food product development, tool linking effective testing (using facial electromyography) with sensory attribute selection
• A generic framework for atmospheric fluid-aerosol modelling with applications in astrophysics, computer games and environment
• Utilising crushed dolerite columns to stabilise unstable substrates using microbial-induced calcite precipitation (MICP): coupling ground improvement and climate mitigation – numerical modelling approach
•  Exploring self-reference effects in children with ADHD
• Application of focused 'omics' approaches to the study of biological phenomena implicated in musculoskeletal ageing. (R-LINCS)
• CLOSED - Modelling of multiphase flow in deformable agricultural soils (Hosted at Abertay University for Tayside Centre for Geotechnical Engineering in Natural Environments)
• Development of Effective Guidelines and Communication Tools for the Protection of Rural Private Water Supplies from Sources of Pollution 
• Detection, analysis and clinical application of spermatozoa biochemical profile using High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC). (R-LINCS)
• Multiple missing: an exploration of behavioural consistency in repeat missing adults. (R-LINCS)
• Application of focused 'omics' approaches to the study of biological phenomena implicated in musculoskeletal ageing. (R-LINCS)
• Connecting Performance and Play: interdisciplinary design methods for the development of games and performance – ARCS/ SGSAH  studentship (Abertay University, National Theatre of Scotland and the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland)
• Investigation into and Development of Processes for the Enhancement of Safety and Shelf Life of Fresh Produce. (R-LINCS and James Hutton Institute)
• Ecology at play: An exploration of natural data through game design. (IW Stewart PhD Studentship) 
• Developing of 4D Imaging Methods to Quantify Soil Structural Dynamics with applications to Soil Science and Environmental Engineering. (R-LINCS)
• Addressing the Fundamental Problems of Cyber-Security through Anti-Patterns. (R-LINCS)
• Interaction between emotion and communication. (R-LINCS)
• Investigating structural synaptic plasticity as a novel therapeutic target for functional recovery from spinal cord injury. (R-LINCS)
• Securing cyberspace: Development and validation of a novel research and evaluation toolset. (R-LINCS)
• The Social and Organisational Construction of Ethical Hacking. (R-LINCS)
• A systematic study of the effect of ultrasound on food enzymes and bioaccessibility of bioactive compounds (model and real food systems). (R-LINCS)
• Assisting Digital Forensic Reconstruction via Exploratory Information Visualisation. (SICSCA)
• Exploring the Role of Monitoring Agents and Affective Feedback in Enhancing Cyber Security for Average Users. (SICSCA)
• Games Design, a new Approach for a New Industry. (ESRC)
• Design and Action. (AHRC)
• Exploring Interactive Design Engineering Methodologies. (AHRC)
• Investigation of the performance of Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SUDS) on the Scottish Trunk Road Network (STRN). (BEAR)
• Factors controlling root growth in heterogeneous substrates: physical structures and root behaviour. (R-LINCS in partnership with James Hutton Institute)
• When do dialects become languages? (Leverhulme)
• Computer and Web Enabled Food Product Evaluation. (MacPhie of Glenbervie Ltd)
• Customer Honesty in Self-Service Interactions. (R-LINCS)
• Nano-and bio-technologies for food science and technology. (SORSAS)
• Role of Second Generation Phosphodiesterase Inhibitor(s) and Adenosine-Triphosphate on Human Sperm Motility. (SORSAS)
• Influence of soil structure on the spatial and temporal distribution of bacteria in soil. (SORSAS)
• Ecosystem service goods and benefits accruing from sustainable approaches to urban water management (SORSAS)
• Understanding Early Intervention: A Case Study of Dundee (SIPR)
• MPhil Research Studentship, 2 years: Project Title: Games and Media Facilitated e-Learning
• PhD Research Studentship: Mapping for Social Innovation
• MPhil Studentship: Development and validation of sequencing and bioinformatics methodologies to identify pathogenic mutations in candidate male infertility genes.
• PhD Studentship: Parental Involvement in Sport: Improving the Quality of Children’s Sport Experiences and Wellbeing
• PhD Studentship: Co-Design Mapping for Social Innovation Project.