Skip to main content
Irena Spasic

Professor Irena Spasic

Professor

School of Computer Science and Informatics

Email
SpasicI@cardiff.ac.uk
Telephone
+44 29208 70320
Campuses
Abacws, Room WX/3.02, Senghennydd Road, Cathays, Cardiff, CF24 4AG
Users
Available for postgraduate supervision

Overview

The main focus of my academic career has been to establish excellence in research related to text mining, which is the key to gaining knowledge for significant interventions and decision making in the context of big data. This makes it indispensible to other disciplines. In particular, I have made contributions in areas of text classification, information extraction, term recognition and sentiment analysis (see infographics). Most often, my research has found its applications in health and life sciences, where it has led to deep interdisciplinary collaboration leading to impact beyond computer science. For example, I am a co-founder of HealTex, the UK Healthcare Text Analytics Network, a multi-disciplinary research network that aims to facilitate the use of healthcare free text (clinical notes, letters, social media post, literature) in research and clinical practice.

In 2004, I was awarded PhD from the University of Salford for my work on the use of machine learning for terminological processing in biomedical literature. My doctoral studies were funded by the Overseas Research Students Awards Scheme, an international postgraduate award for selected  foreign country nationals to undertake research in the UK. The award is among the most selective and prestigious awards offered to international students and scholarships are awarded on the basis of academic excellence and research potential. I moved on to complete postdoctoral research at the University of Manchester. I joined Cardiff University in 2010 as a lecturer and was promoted to senior lectureship and full chair in 2014 and 2016 respectively. In 2020, I was elected a Fellow of the Learned Society of Wales, the national academy for arts and sciences.

Publication

2024

2023

2022

2021

2020

2019

2018

2017

2016

2015

2014

2013

2012

2010

2009

2008

2007

2006

2005

2004

2003

2002

Articles

Book sections

Books

Conferences

Monographs

Websites

Research

Areas of scientific interest and research include:

  • Text mining: information extraction, term recognition, named entity recognition, sentiment analysis, text classification, information retrieval, language resources
  • Knowledge representation: development, application & standardisation of ontologies
  • Machine learning: feature engineering, case-based reasoning, naive Bayesian learning, support vector machines, genetic algorithms, genetic programming
  • Information management: data modelling, data mining, relational and XML databases, user interface development
  • Application areas: healthcare, life sciences, social sciences & social media

A short video on text analytics in healthcare.

Teaching

CMT207: Information modelling and database systems (postgraduate)

More information about the module is available in this video.

Biography

Education

  • PhD, computer science, University of Salford, UK
  • MSc, computer science, University of Belgrade, Serbia
  • BSc, mathematics & computer science, University of Belgrade, Serbia

Work experience

  • Professor, computer science, Cardiff University
  • Senior lecturer, computer science, Cardiff University
  • Lecturer, computer science, Cardiff University
  • Postdoctoral research associate, computer science, University of Manchester
  • Research assistant, computer science, University of Salford
  • Lecturer, mathematics, University of Belgrade

Certification

  • Lean Six Sigma Black Belt
  • ILM Level 4 Award in Practical Leadership for University Management
  • Edexcel Level 5 Professional Certificate in Management Studies
  • PSF Fellow of the Higher Education Academy
  • C2 Certificate of Proficiency in English

Supervisions

Research supervision

  • Yuxiang Liao (PhD, 2021-present): natural language generation, image processing, deep learning
  • Yanzhang Tong (PhD, 2020-present): opinion mining, user experience
  • Dr Maxim Filimonov (RSE, 2020-present): data science

Alumni

  • Farshid Balaneji (PhD, 2021-2024): natural language processing, machine learning, financial forecasting
  • Dr Daphné Chopard (PhD, 2018-2022): text mining, deep learning, data augmentation
  • Dr Anastazia Žunić (PhD, 2018-2022): sentiment analysis, deep learning
  • Dr Jeffrey Morgan (RSE, 2018-2022): data science
  • Dr Vigneshwaran Muralidaran (PhD, 2017-2022): natural language processing, corpus linguistics
  • Dr David Rogers (RA/PhD, 2012-2021): text mining, sentiment analysis, social media
  • Dr Unai Lopez (RSE, 2018-2019): data science
  • Ian Harvey (RSE, 2018-2019): data science
  • Dr Steven Neale (PDRA, 2016-2019): natural language processing, corpus linguistics, crowdsourcing
  • David Owen (RA, 2016-2019): text mining, ontologies, health informatics
  • Dr Lowri Williams (PhD, 2013-2017): text mining, sentiment analysis, language resources
  • Dr Bathilde Ambroise (PhD, 2012-2016): text mining, genomics, bioinformatics
  • Dr Bo Zhao (PhD, 2011-2015): text mining, ontologies, health informatics
  • Dr Christian Bannister (PhD, 2011-2015): machine learning, health informatics, epidemiology
  • Dr Mark Greenwood (PhD, 2010-2014): text mining, health informatics, social media