Alison Noble OBE FRS FREng FIET FWES CEng DPhil (Oxon) MA

Professor Noble began her career at the University of Oxford where she obtained a first-class honours degree in Engineering Science (1986) followed by a DPhil (PhD) in Computer Vision (1989). Following PhD graduation, she became a research scientist at the GE Corporate R&D Center, Schenectady NY USA before returning to the University of Oxford Engineering Science faculty in 1995. Appointed a Professor of Engineering Science in 2002, Prof. Noble was the youngest person and jointly the first female to hold that title at that time. Appointed to her current senior position as the Technikos Professor in Biomedical Engineering in 2011 Prof. Noble is also Oxford’s first female Statutory Professor in Engineering. Prof. Noble was the Director of the Institute of Biomedical Engineering from 2012-16 and an Associate Head of the Mathematical, Physical and Life Sciences Division at the University of Oxford, 2016-19. She is currently a Fellow of St Hilda’s College, Oxford and an Honorary Fellow of Oriel College and of St Hugh’s College.

Professor Noble’s research interests sit at the interface of AI with computer vision and clinical medicine. In recent years, her group has been at the forefront of international thinking in how to bring machine learning to ultrasound working closely with clinical research groups in Oxford (particularly the group of Prof. Aris Papageorghiou, Nuffield Department of Women’s & Reproductive Health) and overseas. This includes global health ultrasound applications research with groups in India and Africa, and pioneering research on multi-modal ultrasound and sonography data science. Prof. Noble co-founded Intelligent Ultrasound Ltd to commercial research from her laboratory which was acquired by MedaPhor Group Plc (now called Intelligent Ultrasound Group) in 2017. Her research has attracted international awards and distinctions. Recent awards are: BMVA Distinguished Researchers (2022), Gabor Medal, Royal Society (2019); and the MICCAI Society Enduring Impact Award (2019). She held an ERC Advanced Grant from 2016-2023.

In addition to playing a prominent role in the development of her research field, Professor Noble has held science and engineering leadership roles on national and international bodies.

For instance, she chaired the Royal Society Privacy Enhancing Technologies (PETs) Policy Working Group which published data science policy reports in 2019 and 2023. Prof. Noble co-chairs the Royal Society Data Community of Interest and is a member of the Royal Society Science Policy Committee. She currently chairs the Royal Society Industry Fellowship joint panel.

Professor Noble is a former president of the Medical Image Computing and Computer-Assisted Interventions (MICCAI) Society, the international society in her field. She served as chair of the EPSRC Healthcare Technologies Strategic Advisory Team and is a current member of the EPSRC Science, Engineering and Technology Board. She was a member of REF 2021 Subpanel 12 (Engineering) 2018-22.

Professor Noble is a former Trustee of the Institute of Engineering Technology (IET) 2016-19 and a current Trustee of the Oxford Trust. She is a current Council member and trustee of the Royal Society.

Professor Noble is an ELLIS Fellow, a MICCAI Fellow, and a Fellow of the IET, the Royal Academy of Engineering and of the Royal Society. She received an OBE for services to science and engineering in the Queen's Birthday Honours list in 2013.

View a list of Professor Noble's publications on Google Scholar, or by using her ORCID ID.

• Biomedical imaging and image analysis
• Machine learning applied to healthcare
• Ultrasound image analysis
• Point-of-care ultrasound
• Global health technologies

Professor Noble's collaborators and research partners include:

• Nuffield Department of Women’s and Reproductive Health, University of Oxford
• Visual Geometry Group, University of Oxford
• Translational Health Science and Technology Institute (THSTI), Faridabad, India
• PRECISE Network supported by GCRF
• Collaborative Initiative on Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (CIFASD) supported by NIAAA
• SmartHeart EPSRC programme grant

For more information about Professor Noble’s research see here.

Enquiries from potential postgraduate research students who have interests in any of my research areas are welcome.