Thomas Neumayr is a researcher at Johannes Kepler University Linz's Research Center Hagenberg, specializing in Business Informatics and active in Human-Computer Interaction, Artificial Intelligence, and Smart Production. He contributes to projects like HYCOS and COIN, focusing on hybrid collaboration and AI-enhanced analysis. PhD in Business Informatics (2023, Johannes Kepler University Linz) His research explores Human-Computer Interaction , Collaborative Spaces , AI Creativity , and Smart Collaboration . Recent publications analyze real-time AI adaptability, human-AI autonomy, and personalized interaction frameworks. Scientific recognition includes Best Paper Awards at ACM CSCW 2018 and HUCAPP 2018, plus the Microsoft Productivity Research Grant .
Cecilia Åberg is a Senior Lecturer in Nursing at the School of Health Sciences, University of Skövde. She serves as program coordinator for the Nursing Program and is actively involved in teaching at both basic and advanced levels. Her research focuses on elderly health and well-being, particularly within the DHEAR research environment and the "Välbefinnande vid långvariga hälsoproblem" research group. Research Interests: Åberg specializes in person-centered care for the elderly, digital health interventions to combat existential loneliness, and reflective dialogue techniques to enhance meaning-making in long-term health problems. Her work integrates technology like the egenKRAFT app to support self-reflection and existential conversations. Recent Article Trends: Her 2024 publications emphasize digital tools for elderly engagement, reducing involuntary loneliness, and technology-assisted care delivery. Earlier works (2022–2015) explore qualitative experiences of digital interventions, existential dialogues, and clinical education methods. Projects: Åberg leads the ongoing DigiKRAFT project (2023–2028), which promotes healthy aging through structured existential conversations. Her doctoral research (2022) focused on reflective STRENGTH-giving dialogues for elderly with long-term health issues.
An Jacobs is a prominent Professor at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) in the Faculty of Social Sciences, specifically within the Department of Sociology and Communication Sciences. With a Doctor of Political and Social Sciences in Sociology, Jacobs has established herself as a leading researcher at the intersection of technology, healthcare, and social sciences. Her work spans multiple disciplines with significant contributions to human-robot collaboration, digital health, and the sociology of technology. Her research interests focus on Human-Computer Interaction , Human-Robot Collaboration , Participatory Design , and Digital Health Inclusion , particularly for older adults. Jacobs explores how technology can be designed with and for users, emphasizing the importance of understanding user experiences, especially in healthcare contexts. Her work on multimorbidity self-management platforms demonstrates her commitment to creating practical solutions that address real-world challenges in healthcare systems. She has pioneered approaches to studying technology acceptance among older adults and has made significant contributions to understanding digital bother and burden in aging populations. Analysis of Jacobs' recent publications reveals a strong trend toward human-centered AI applications in healthcare, with particular emphasis on explainable AI systems, breast cancer screening innovations, and digital self-management tools for chronic conditions. Her work consistently bridges technical development with social implications, ensuring that technological solutions are not only effective but also ethically sound and socially appropriate. The interdisciplinary nature of her research is evident in publications spanning biomedical engineering, oncology, endocrinology, and social robotics. Finalist science communication award 2019 from the Royal Flemish Academy of Belgium for Science and the Arts Jaarprijs Wetenschapscommunicatie 2019 Silver ITEA Achievement Award 2012 Sustainability Leadership Recognition in Robotics 2024 As a principal investigator on numerous research projects including Brubotics, COMPASs 2.0, and DIGIT-ABLE, Jacobs has secured substantial funding for interdisciplinary research that combines social sciences with technological innovation. Her approach emphasizes co-creation with end-users, particularly evident in her work on digital health solutions for older adults with multimorbidity. Jacobs leads the Digital Ageing Consortium, which has produced significant datasets on older adults' technology experiences in Flanders. Her laboratory work spans multiple domains, from robotics research at Audi Vorst (where humans and robots work side-by-side) to in vitro testing of nano-aerosol exposures. Jacobs collaborates extensively across disciplines, working with medical researchers, engineers, and social scientists to address complex challenges in technology adoption and healthcare innovation.
Prof. Dr. Tobias Kowatsch is an Associate Professor at the Institute for Implementation Science in Health Care, Faculty of Medicine, University of Zurich. He serves as Scientific Director of the Centre for Digital Health Interventions (CDHI) and Director of the School of Medicine at the University of St. Gallen (HSG). His research focuses on digital health interventions at the intersection of information systems, computer science, and behavioral medicine. PhD in Management (University of St. Gallen, 2016) Master in Business Informatics (2012) Master in Media and Informatics (2007) Diploma in Informatics (2005) Kowatsch develops digital health solutions such as MobileCoach (open-source platform for health interventions) and Pathmate Technologies (digital therapeutics like manoa for hypertension). His work integrates machine learning, conversational agents, and wearable technology to address non-communicable diseases and mental health challenges. His recent research trends emphasize personalized health interventions , conversational AI , and biopsychosocial monitoring using wearables. Key areas include dementia prevention , menstrual health , and cancer patient support . ISRII Poster Award (2023) Gold & Silver Awards, World Media Festivals (2023) Fitrockr & Garmin Health EMEA Research Grant (2023) Kowatsch leads the CSS Health Lab and collaborates with institutions like ETH Zurich and the Singapore-ETH Centre. His initiatives include the Precision Digital Therapeutics Summer School and industry partnerships with companies like Pathmate Technologies .
David Cohen is a University Professor and Hospital Practitioner affiliated with the ACIDE team at AP-HP (Assistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Paris). His research spans child and adolescent psychiatry , autism spectrum disorders , and neurodevelopmental conditions , with a focus on integrating social robotics and affective computing into clinical interventions. His recent work explores AI-based analysis of child-therapist interactions , ICT applications for neurodevelopmental disorders , and robot-assisted therapies . Key publications include systematic reviews on depression assessment tools in autism, longitudinal studies of emotional interventions, and collaborative research on human-robot interaction in clinical contexts. David Cohen collaborates extensively with teams across clinical psychology , robotics , and public health , contributing to journals like Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders , Research in Developmental Disabilities , and Frontiers in Psychiatry . No specific awards, grants, or educational credentials are detailed in the provided texts.
Aaron Veenstra is an Associate Professor in the School of Communication & Multimedia Studies at Florida Atlantic University (FAU), where he teaches courses such as Political Communication and Mass Communication Theory. He holds a Ph.D. in Mass Communication from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and previously taught at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. His research focuses on how social and political identities shape media engagement, particularly in the digital age. He also integrates his background in web development to explore how digital environments influence information access and interpretation. Dr. Veenstra’s expertise spans political communication, media effects, online communities, and cognitive bias. His work examines topics like partisan media consumption, identity-driven media evaluation, and the role of social media in maintaining relationships among diaspora communities. He has published extensively on topics such as social identity theory, media framing, and the evolution of communication models. His recent articles highlight trends in AI’s impact on journalism education, the interplay of political identities in public policy debates, and the dynamics of social media discourse. While no scientific awards are explicitly mentioned, his contributions address contemporary challenges in digital communication and media literacy. He advises no listed students but maintains active involvement in graduate education through course instruction. Dr. Veenstra’s research often bridges theoretical frameworks with practical digital phenomena, emphasizing interdisciplinary approaches to communication studies. His work on Twitter’s role in political discourse and YouTube’s influence on partisan attitudes underscores his commitment to understanding evolving media landscapes.
Leah Findlater is a Professor at the University of Washington , Seattle, WA, USA. Her research focuses on Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) and Accessibility , particularly in developing AI and Machine Learning systems for users with disabilities. Key areas: Assistive Technologies , Speech Recognition , Visual Privacy Collaborators: Jon E. Froehlich, Dhruv Jain, Emma J. McDonnell, Abigale Stangl Her recent work includes sound personalization for Deaf users , AI-driven sign language generation , and privacy tools for blind individuals . She explores interactive machine learning and user-centered design to improve accessibility in smartwatches , AR , and generative AI . Articles highlight cross-disciplinary collaborations with disability communities , focusing on inclusive AI , sensory augmentation , and ethical technology design . She advocates for user-driven accessibility solutions in social media and urban environments .
Dr. Ezgi Akar is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Business Communication and Information Systems at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire's College of Business. She holds a Ph.D. in Management Information Systems from Bogazici University, complemented by graduate certificates in data analytics from institutions including MIT xPRO and Google. Her research focuses on social networks, online communities, data analytics, and consumer behavior in digital environments. Her scholarly contributions examine online community dynamics, misinformation propagation, and digital consumerism during crises. Recent work analyzes mental health communities on Reddit, exploring how network structures influence toxicity and support efficacy. Additional research investigates pandemic-driven shifts in e-commerce behavior using behavioral theory frameworks. Dr. Akar has received multiple academic honors including the International Doctoral Research Fellowship from TÜBİTAK and Bogazici University's Tolga Ulus Special Award for academic excellence. She teaches courses in database management systems, business analytics, and programming languages.
Dr. Reima Ana Maglajlic is an Associate Professor in Social Work at the University of Sussex's School of Education and Social Work. Her work focuses on social work's role in political conflict, mental health reform, and disability rights. She holds dual roles as Co-Editor of the British Journal of Social Work (2020-2024) and has extensive experience in post-conflict social welfare reform across South-East Europe. Education: Studied social work in Croatia, earned PhD from Swansea University. Professional milestones include: 1994-1997: Social work practice and research at Anglia Ruskin University 1999-2011: Consultancy work on social welfare reforms in Bosnia and Herzegovina 2011-2013: Research Director at Mental Disability Advocacy Center 2013-present: Academic roles at Sussex University Research emphasizes: Social work's response to armed conflict Community mental health system reform UNCRPD implementation for persons with disabilities Co-production with service users Current projects include studying humanitarian shelter impacts in Ukraine (Medair, 2024-2025) and post-war mental health alternatives in Bosnia (British Academy, 2021-2023). Her publications critically engage with social work's role in crises, technology ethics, and global inequalities. Grant leadership includes 6 funded projects on topics like: Social care innovations for safeguarding youth Self-neglect inter-agency collaboration Mental health co-production methodologies Advocacy work includes steering committees for citizenship rehabilitation services and international social work networks like SWAN (2010-2017). She continues frontline practice support for refugee organizations.
Pamela Souza is a Professor in the Department of Communication Sciences & Disorders at Northwestern University's School of Communication. She holds secondary appointments in Linguistics and Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery. Her research focuses on auditory and cognitive factors influencing hearing aid outcomes, particularly in aging populations. She is affiliated with the Hearing Aid Laboratory and is a Fellow of prominent organizations like the Acoustical Society of America and the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. Dr. Souza earned her PhD in Audiology from Syracuse University. Her clinical interests include severe hearing loss management, tinnitus, and hearing assistive technologies. She has led NIH-funded projects investigating hearing aid signal processing and cognitive-auditory interactions. Notable contributions include developing the Spectral Correlation Index and advancing remote hearing aid assessment methods. Her research spans 30+ years, with over 100 peer-reviewed articles. Key themes include speech recognition in complex environments, working memory effects on hearing aid performance, and individualized treatment approaches. She has pioneered studies on reverberation and noise reduction technologies, emphasizing real-world acoustic challenges. Dr. Souza's grants include NIH R01 awards for studying hearing aid outcomes and compression dynamics. She has advised multiple trainees and collaborates internationally on projects like the E-LOSPHERES initiative. Her lab develops tools like the Portable Automated Rapid Testing (PART) system for auditory research.
Christopher L. Asplund is an Associate Professor at the National University of Singapore (NUS), affiliated with the Department of Biomedical Engineering and Yale-NUS College. He serves as Head of Studies for Psychology at Yale-NUS and holds courtesy appointments in NUS Psychology, Institute for Digital Medicine (WiSDM), Centre for Sleep and Cognition, and Duke-NUS Neuroscience & Behavioural Disorders program. His research explores attentional control, consciousness, and the neural basis of cognition through behavioral experiments, fMRI, and EEG. Research Focus: Understanding attentional states and their modulation by surprise Investigating individual differences in attention, including ASD/ADHD Exploring surprise's role in learning and pain perception Developing digital therapeutics for cognitive training Examining how consciousness and intelligence emerge from neural networks Methodological Expertise: Behavioral experimentation, functional neuroimaging (fMRI, EEG), eye-tracking, and physiological measures.
Dr. Tegan Cheng is an NHMRC Emerging Leadership Fellow and Adjunct Lecturer in the School of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Sydney. She leads the EPIC Lab at Kids Research, Children's Hospital at Westmead, focusing on pediatric medical devices and 3D printing applications. Her work bridges engineering and clinical needs to address musculoskeletal challenges in children. She holds a BE(Mechanical/Biomedical) and BMedSc from the University of Sydney (2011) and a PhD (2016). Research Interests: Developing implantable/wearable medical devices for children, 3D printing in healthcare, pediatric orthotic design, and commercialization pathways. Her Printhotics initiative aims to create equitable access to personalized ankle-foot orthoses (AFOs) using 3D scanning and AI. Key collaborations include clinicians, engineers, and designers to advance pediatric device solutions. Grants and Awards: 2021 Young Tall Poppy Science Award, NHMRC Investigator Grant for Printhotics (2020), and grants from the American Orthotic & Prosthetic Association and University of Sydney's Educational Innovation Fund. Active projects include smart orthotics with embedded sensors and biodegradable bone implants. Labs/Teams: Group Leader of the EPIC Lab, collaborating with Kids Research, University of Sydney, and industry partners. Focus areas include translational research, medical device innovation, and interdisciplinary education using 3D-printed anatomical models.
Ioannis Maniadis Metaxas is a lecturer at Queen Mary University of London's School of Electronic Engineering and Computer Science. He teaches undergraduate and postgraduate courses including Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Machine Learning for Visual Data Analysis. His research focuses on: Unsupervised representation learning Computer vision systems Large vision-language models Deep clustering techniques Generative models for data augmentation E-commerce personalization systems Recent publications demonstrate consistent focus on efficient learning methods for visual data, particularly investigating unsupervised pretraining, cluster optimization, and model fine-tuning approaches. His work shows progression from foundational 3D data augmentation to cutting-edge vision-language model optimization.
Raoul C.Y. Nuijten is a University Lecturer at the Eindhoven University of Technology, affiliated with the Department of Information Systems IE&IS within the School of Industrial Engineering and Innovation Sciences. His email is r.c.y.nuijten@tue.nl , and he holds an ORCID identifier: 0000-0003-0125-7708 . Education: Master's thesis: "Our Quality of Life, Our Responsibility: Exploration of the effectiveness of a game that empowers end users to improve their quality of life" (Eindhoven University of Technology, 2017) PhD thesis: "Energize: Exploring the impact of gamification strategies on engagement with mobile health apps" (Eindhoven University of Technology, 2022) Research Interests: Nuijten specializes in leveraging apps to drive behavior change for health and work performance. He employs data science techniques to create personalized strategies and tests their efficacy through empirical experiments. His work emphasizes gamification in digital health tools, personalization approaches for mHealth, and the integration of scientific knowledge to inform health behavior models. He also explores how neighborhood environments and digital interventions can enhance physical activity and well-being. Key Projects: He contributed to the GOAL: Gamification for Overweight prevention and Active Lifestyle project (2018–2021), focusing on gamification and AI-driven health strategies. This project aimed to establish evidence-based frameworks for promoting active lifestyles. Awards: In 2018, he received the Best Poster Presentation Certificate (Health track) at ICT.OPEN, recognizing his early contributions to health-focused research. Advising & Grants: Nuijten supervised 4 works (not listed by name) and has presented at conferences, such as a contributed talk in 2020 on mHealth tools. His research has garnered 110 Scopus citations and involved collaborations across disciplines and institutions. Labs/Teams: While specific lab affiliations are not mentioned, his work aligns with TU/e’s focus on digital health and innovation, including the development of platforms like GameBus and SciModeler.
Prof. Damian Trilling is a Full Professor at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam's Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities in the Department of Communication, and concurrently holds the same rank at the Network Institute. He also serves as a Medewerker (employee) at the Universiteit van Amsterdam and Universitetet i Bergen since February 2024, reflecting his active interdisciplinary and international collaborations. His research focuses on computational methods applied to communication science, particularly exploring how algorithms and digital platforms shape media exposure, political behavior, and information dissemination. Key areas include analyzing selective exposure in recommender systems, measuring ethnic biases in news content, and studying the agenda-setting role of dark platforms. He emphasizes transparency in news algorithms and the ethical implications of data donation frameworks, often employing machine learning techniques like word embeddings and agent-based modeling to address these topics. Trilling's recent articles (2024-2025) reveal a strong focus on understanding algorithmic impacts across media ecosystems. They highlight concerns about filter bubbles, dark platform dynamics, and the interplay between user behavior and platform design. His work bridges communication theory with computer science, offering practical tools such as the INCA infrastructure for automated content analysis and the 3bij3 framework to study recommender systems' effects on news diversity. He teaches courses like Impact van journalistieke producten , Inleiding Media en Journalistiek , and collaborates internationally, as seen in the Introduction to Machine Learning for Text Analysis with Python at GESIS (Mannheim, Germany). His pedagogical contributions complement his research agenda, aiming to equip students with computational skills for modern communication analysis.
