Le My Ha, a Vietnamese doctoral researcher at Northeastern University in the US, has won a prestigious Apple fellowship for her work on artificial intelligence that learns from and adapts to people's everyday needs.
Born in 2000, Le My Ha has been selected for the 2026 Apple AI/ML PhD Fellowship, a program recognizing promising doctoral researchers in artificial intelligence and machine learning.
Candidates are nominated by their universities and selected by Apple based on the originality of their research, leadership abilities and potential contributions to the fields of AI and machine learning.
The two-year fellowship provides financial support for doctoral studies, opportunities to intern at Apple and direct mentorship from leading researchers in the field.
This year, Apple awarded fellowships to 20 PhD students from institutions including the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Princeton University and Cornell University. Ha is the only Vietnamese researcher among the recipients.
From an English major to computer science research
Le My Ha has been selected for the 2026 Apple AI/ML PhD Fellowship. Photo: Courtesy of Le My Ha.
Ha attended the Foreign Language Specialized School under Vietnam National University, Hanoi, where she specialized in English. During her high school years, alongside her interest in languages, she gradually discovered a passion for analyzing problems, identifying patterns and solving questions that required logical thinking.
After graduating from high school, she took a different path, choosing to study mathematics and computer science at Gustavus Adolphus College in the United States.
"Computer science helped me realize that instead of simply absorbing existing knowledge, I could ask my own questions, develop ways to test ideas and find answers through research," Ha said.
That realization sparked her interest in machine learning and artificial intelligence, fields she has pursued ever since.
After graduating in 2022, Ha remained in the US and received full scholarships for PhD programs in computer science at both Rice University and Northeastern University.
She chose Northeastern for its strengths in computer science, particularly human-computer interaction.
Working under professors Varun Mishra and Stephen Intille at UbiWell Lab and the mHealth research group, Ha focuses on combining AI, data collected from wearable devices and human involvement to develop systems that can adapt to individual users and their needs.
"Rather than relying solely on existing data to build a single model for everyone, our research explores how AI can learn from real-world data, incorporate user feedback and gradually adapt to each person's characteristics and needs," she explained.
At the heart of the group's work is a question: How can users participate in the way AI learns and adapts without having to invest too much time or effort?
This has led Ha to focus on human-centered AI systems, where users are not merely sources of data but can also determine what the technology should recognize and how it should assist them.
"AI can be extremely intelligent, but that doesn't necessarily make it useful if it fails to understand what people actually need," Ha said. "That's why we're interested in finding ways for people and AI to work together throughout the learning and adaptation process."
Her research has appeared at major international academic venues, including ACM CHI and UbiComp/IMWUT, which are highly regarded in human-computer interaction and wearable technology research.
Apple recognition strengthens her research ambitions
Le My Ha is pursuing a PhD in computer science at Northeastern University in the US. Photo: Courtesy of Le My Ha.
Ha's work on human-centered AI was also central to her selection for Apple's fellowship.
For the Vietnamese researcher, the program offers more than financial support for her doctoral studies. It also opens doors to the wider research and technology community.
"The fellowship connects PhD students with leading researchers who are directly involved in developing AI technologies," she said. "That will give me access to different perspectives and valuable feedback that can help improve my research."
Ha had previously received Northeastern University's Outstanding PhD Student Award in Humanics, an interdisciplinary field that combines an understanding of human needs with technology.
She believes meaningful research should go beyond improving a model's technical performance and deliver real benefits to people.
Looking ahead, Ha plans to continue developing AI systems that put users at the center of how the technology learns and adapts.
For her, the challenge is not simply to make AI increasingly intelligent, but to find ways for people to participate actively in that process in a natural and effective manner.
Being selected by Apple has given her further motivation to pursue that ambition.
"Vietnamese researchers are absolutely capable of making meaningful contributions and earning recognition from the global technology community, even in emerging research fields such as AI," Ha said.
Vietnamnet.vn
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