Persona research grants and PhD internships

Persona has an open and ongoing call for research proposals that advance digital identity, privacy, fraud prevention, and online safety. We support work that contributes knowledge to the field, opens new areas of inquiry, and helps make digital services safer and more accessible.

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis.

Research topics

The Research group at Persona has four primary areas of interest:

Fraud intelligence

Improves organizations' ability to identify, measure, and prevent fraud. Areas of interest include:

• Emerging fraud methods, scams, and attack patterns

• Synthetic media, deepfakes, and presentation attacks

• Fraud datasets, benchmarks, taxonomies, and evaluation methods

• Fraud detection across countries, languages, and demographic groups

• Methods for evaluating systems in adversarial environments

Data privacy

Protects personal data throughout identity verification and fraud prevention processes. Areas of interest include:

• Applied cryptography and privacy-enhancing technologies

• Data minimization, selective disclosure, and zero-knowledge methods

• Privacy-preserving biometric systems

• Secure methods for linking or reusing identity information

• Differential privacy and privacy-preserving machine learning

• Methods for measuring and reducing privacy risk

Online safety

Helps online services establish trust while preserving individual privacy and access. Areas of interest include:

• Privacy-preserving age assurance systems

• Safety and identity needs of children and other at-risk groups

• Account integrity, impersonation, and identity-based abuse

• Personhood credentials and reusable proofs

• Frameworks for measuring online harm and the effectiveness of safety interventions

Accessible identity

Makes authentication and identity verification more inclusive. Areas of interest include:

• Accessible verification experiences for people with disabilities

• Fairness and performance across demographic groups

• Identity verification in low-connectivity or low-resource settings

• Support for people with limited access to identity documents

• Multilingual and culturally responsive verification experiences

• Account recovery and alternatives to traditional authentication methods

We welcome proposals that span more than one area. We will also consider adjacent topics when applicants can explain their relevance to digital identity, fraud prevention, or online privacy and safety.

Award details

Persona offers two forms of support: research grants and PhD internships. 

Research grants

Award amounts vary by topic and proposal, with grants of up to $100,000.

The funding is intended to support approximately 12 months of research. Persona will disburse funds directly to the recipient’s university or degree-granting research institution. For projects involving researchers at multiple institutions, Persona may distribute funds to up to two institutions.

Awards are provided as research gifts intended to support the proposed work. Funds are not intended for institutional overhead or other indirect costs. Final terms are subject to the recipient institution’s policies and an agreement with Persona.

PhD internships

Doctoral students may work with Persona researchers on a defined project related to one of the areas listed above. 

Internship opportunities depend on project fit, team capacity, and hiring eligibility. An internship is not guaranteed as part of a grant application. We will discuss the specific scope, timing, location, compensation, mentorship, and publication expectations during the interview process.

Applicants may indicate in their proposal whether they would like to be considered for a research grant, an internship collaboration, or both.

Eligibility

Research grants

Principal investigators (PIs) and co-PIs must be full-time faculty members or researchers at a university or degree-granting research institution. Eligible roles may include professors, lecturers, research faculty, and research associates.

Doctoral students may participate as named members of a research team, subject to their institution’s policies. However, the proposal must have an eligible faculty or research lead.

Applicants may serve as a PI or co-PI on one active proposal at a time. Each proposal may include up to two PIs. 

PhD internship

Internship collaborations are open to currently enrolled PhD students and PhD candidates whose work relates to one or more of Persona’s research areas. Additional employment and location requirements may apply.

What to include in your proposal

Submit a proposal of no more than three pages, excluding references, biographies, and the budget. It should include:

• Project title and abstract: A concise description of the proposed research.

• Research team: The names, roles, affiliations, and relevant experience of the PI(s).

• Problem and research questions: The problem you plan to study and why it matters.

• Proposed approach: Your methods, anticipated data sources, evaluation plan, and relevant prior work.

• Milestones: The work you expect to complete during the award period.

• Expected outcomes: Potential publications, datasets, benchmarks, open-source software, prototypes, or other contributions.

• Responsible research considerations: Relevant privacy, security, safety, fairness, and research ethics considerations.

• Collaboration with Persona: Any expertise, mentorship, data, or technical collaboration you are requesting from Persona.

• Budget: A high-level explanation of how the funds would support the research.

Do not include personal data, confidential information, proprietary datasets, or other sensitive material in the application. Email your proposal to research@withpersona.com. Please include “Research program” and the lead applicant’s name in the subject line.

Review criteria

Persona will consider the following factors when reviewing applications:

• Applicant and team experience: The team has relevant research experience and the ability to complete the proposed work. Contributions to the research community, public-interest work, and open-source projects may also be considered where relevant.

• Research merit and potential impact: The proposal addresses a meaningful problem, contributes something new, and could improve the field or its practical application.

• Alignment with Persona’s research interests: The work has a clear connection to fraud, identity, privacy, accessibility, or online safety.

• Proposal quality and feasibility: The proposal is clear, focused, and supported by an achievable research plan, appropriate methods, and measurable outcomes.

• Responsible research: The team identifies relevant ethical, privacy, security, fairness, and misuse considerations and provides a credible plan for addressing them.

• Potential for collaboration: The project will benefit from collaboration between the applicant(s) and Persona’s researchers or practitioners.

Resulting publications and intellectual property

Persona supports the publication and responsible sharing of research produced through this program. Publication, intellectual property, confidentiality, data access, and review expectations will be agreed upon in writing before the project begins.

Some projects may involve information that cannot be made public or may require a limited review period before publication. Persona and the research team will establish those requirements at the start of the collaboration.

Previous collaborations

Persona has worked with academic and industry researchers affiliated with:

• University of North Carolina 

• University at Buffalo

• University of Connecticut

• Stanford University

• The Center for Identification Technology Research (CITeR)

• Scale AI

These collaborations have included research funding, internships, joint experimentation, and work intended for peer-reviewed publication.

Previous collaborations with Persona do not imply an endorsement of Persona or the grant and internship programs.