Global St Andrews and Macquarie Doctoral Scholarship - Medicine and Health Innovation

Project

The integration of Large Language Models (LLMs) in healthcare promises to revolutionize clinical practice and patient engagement, yet these systems may perpetuate or amplify existing biases, potentially compromising patient safety and healthcare equity. This project aims to systematically evaluate biases in medically generated AI content and develop strategies to mitigate their impact on clinical and general users. These biases manifest in multiple forms: demographic biases affecting diagnosis and treatment recommendations across different patient populations; acquiescence bias (sycophancy) where AI systems may inappropriately agree with users, potentially reinforcing incorrect clinical assumptions; and social desirability bias in discussing stigmatized conditions, potentially affecting mental health, addiction, and sexual health consultations.

Primary Objectives

• Systematically evaluate multiple bias types in medical AI outputs, including demographic, cognitive, and social biases.
• Investigate how AI acquiescence affects diagnostic accuracy and clinical recommendations.
• Analyse AI handling of subjective clinical elements (lifestyle advice, mental health support) against established guidelines.
• Develop and test bias detection and mitigation strategies for clinical AI systems.
• Create frameworks for safer AI deployment in healthcare settings Research Questions:
  • How do different bias types in medical AI systems affect clinical decisionmaking and patient outcomes?
  • To what extent does AI sycophancy influence diagnostic pathways when clinicians present incorrect assumptions?
  • How do AI systems handle stigmatized conditions compared to non-stigmatized ones, and what are the implications for healthcare equity?
  • What strategies can effectively detect and mitigate biases in real-time clinical AI applications?

Methods

The project will employ a mixed-methods approach, beginning with systematic bias evaluation using controlled experiments. We will develop standardized testing scenarios incorporating diverse patient demographics, clinical presentations, and user interactions. These will include:

• Simulated clinical consultations with varying demographic profiles to assess diagnostic and treatment biases.
• Experiments testing AI responses to clinician queries containing deliberate errors or biases.
• Comparative analysis of AI-generated content for stigmatized versus nonstigmatized conditions.
• Evaluation of AI-generated clinical documentation (referral letters, SOAP notes) for bias indicators.
• User studies with healthcare professionals and patients to understand realworld bias impacts.

Following Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) best practices, we will develop bias detection tools and mitigation strategies. Statistical methods will quantify bias magnitude across different dimensions, while qualitative analysis will provide insights into user experiences and clinical implications.

The project will be managed jointly between the School of Medicine at St Andrews and the Australian Institute of Health Innovation - Centre for Health Informatics at Macquarie. The student will be supervised by Dr Andrew O’Malley (St Andrews) and Dr David Fraile Navarro (Macquarie).

Value of award (per year)

For the period spent at the University of St Andrews, the scholarships will comprise a full tuition fee award and an annual stipend paid at a rate set by the University of St Andrews. For 2025-2026, the stipend is £19,775 p.a., with an annual uplift published by the University each academic year. 

Macquarie will fund a living allowance scholarship per position at an annual rate of AUD39,700 (2026 rate, tax exempt), paid pro-rata while the student is in Australia.  A tuition fee scholarship will be granted for the period of joint enrolment up to 42 months.

Macquarie will also provide an airfare allowance for flights between the UK and Australia up to a maximum of $4,000 AUD to be arranged by the Graduate Research Academy.

Unless otherwise specified, the scholarships do not cover:

• Any continuation, extension, or resubmission period/fees.
• A research training grant or another equivalent award for research expenses.
• Support for travel, immigration, health insurance and related charges between the partner institutions.

Duration of award

Up to 3.5 years. The student will be expected to spend half of the award term at the University of St Andrews and half at Macquarie University. The successful candidate will be expected to have completed the doctorate degree by the end of the award term. The award term excludes the continuation period and any extension periods.

Additional criteria

Admission and scholarship criteria of both universities must be met.

For St Andrews, please refer to details of how to apply and of entry requirements here: https://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/study/apply/postgraduate/research/.

For Macquarie University, please refer to the PhD entry and English language requirements, and graduate research scholarship eligibility criteria.

Applicants must not already (i) hold a doctoral degree; or (ii) be matriculated for a doctoral degree at the University of St Andrews, Macquarie University, or another institution.

How to apply

Call for expressions of interest (EOIs) from students opens mid-October 2025. 

Call for EOIs closes 3 December 2025.

Students should submit an application via the University of St Andrews' online portal.

As this is a St Andrews system, please ensure that you choose School of Medicine and Dr Andrew O’Malley as your principal supervisor.

Applications and Expressions of interest should include the following documents:

• CV including information about publications.
• Transcripts of most relevant and recent degrees.
• Information about thesis components (thesis mark, word count, weight and length in comparison to the degree overall).
• Statement of suitability as a candidate for the project (max 500 words).
• Indication that the student meets the English language requirements for entry into a PhD program at both universities, or willingness to obtain relevant English language proficiency test results.

The Global Office at St Andrews will work with the Graduate Research Academy at Macquarie to arrange official notification of scholarship awards, invite scholarship awardees to formally apply for admission to both universities by mid-January 2026, and conclude contractual arrangements which must be in place prior to the start of the degree.

Shortlisted applicants will be invited for an interview. The successful applicant will then be asked to formally apply for the relevant PhD course code and Cotutelle or joint PhD scholarship through the MQ application portal:

https://www.mq.edu.au/research/phd-and-research-degrees/how-to-apply

Terms and conditions

Please read the University of St Andrews scholarships terms and conditions (opens in new tab).

These are applicable during the St Andrews duration of the award; please consult the partner institution for their terms and conditions relating to scholarships.

When will I know the outcome?

By mid-January 2026. Awards are subject to final signatures of contracts between the parties and successful admission to both institutions.