Jerusaa Vasikaran

Email: jerusaa.vasikaran@bristol.ac.uk

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/jerusaa-vasikaran

Project title: Exploring a wearable solution for epileptic seizure forecasting in paediatrics

Supervisory team: Dr Amberly Brigden, Professor Kenton O'Hara and Dr Lauren Thompson

 

‌Project summary

I’m a PhD student in Digital Health and Care at the University of Bristol, supervised by Dr Amberly Brigden, Professor Kenton O’Hara, and Dr Lauren Thompson. My research explores how seizure forecasting technologies can be adapted for children and young people with epilepsy, focusing on seizure precipitants, wearable devices, user interface design, and the sociotechnical factors that shape how this kind of technology might be integrated into everyday life and healthcare.

As part of this work, I am currently running a systematic review (https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/view/CRD42024600453 ) and leading a qualitative study on Understanding stakeholder contexts, opportunities and challenges for paediatric seizure forecasting.

This PhD builds on the ATmOSPhErE project (Artificial intelligence To Optimise Seizure Prediction to Empower people with Epilepsy), led by Dr Amberly Brigden, which focuses on developing seizure forecasting technology for adults. I am currently a Research Associate on this project.

I am particularly interested in evidence-based technologies and approaches that are co-produced and co-designed with the people who will use them. I am passionate about working closely with those with lived experience to shape how digital health tools are developed. Within HCI, my interests extend to child-centred interaction and family informatics, ensuring that technologies for children and young people are designed with their and their families voices at the centre.

In the 2025–26 academic year, I am looking forward to taking on teaching support responsibilities and participating in GW4 Connect: a cross-institutional peer support programme for Global Majority postgraduate researchers. I am always open to networking and collaboration, so please feel free to reach out.

Bio

Before starting my PhD, I studied Biological Sciences (BSc) and Experimental Neuroscience (MRes) at Imperial College London. My research experience includes projects in children and young people’s mental health at Imperial and the Anna Freud Centre, and I later worked as a Research Assistant and Administrator at Imperial and UCL. I contributed to studies on digital technologies for mental health care, loneliness in adults with treatment-resistant depression, and mental health policy, often working closely with people with lived experience through collaborations with The McPin Foundation and NHS England.