MARIA MICAELA LEAL DA FONSECA

MARIA MICAELA LEAL DA FONSECA is a Professor at ISCTE - University Institute of Lisbon with dual affiliations at ECATI - School of Communication, Arts and Information and EPCV - School of Psychology and Life Sciences. She serves as Principal Investigator for the Warning Impact project on public responses to severe weather warnings in Portugal and contributes as a researcher to multiple European-funded initiatives including EPIC-WE (Empowered Participation through Ideating Cultural Worlds and Environments) under Horizon Europe, REPLAY European Joint Masters in Games, and GameIN (Games Inclusion Lab).

Her research interests span Virtual Reality applications in rehabilitation, serious games development, human-computer interaction, and the intersection of technology with psychological and medical applications. She has published extensively on VR-based telerehabilitation, experience-driven game adaptation, and the implementation challenges of serious games in clinical settings. Her work demonstrates strong connections between computer science (82% Virtual Reality focus) and engineering applications, particularly in Gamma Radiation Physics (100%), Cross Section Engineering (100%), and Proton Energy Physics (97%).

Her recent publications reveal a clear trend toward practical applications of virtual reality in healthcare contexts, particularly upper limb rehabilitation post-stroke and for spinal cord injuries, with increasing attention to user engagement strategies and safety monitoring in tele-rehabilitation systems. She also contributes significantly to cultural heritage applications through game jams and co-creation methodologies.

• Principal Investigator for Warning Impact: Public Responses to Severe Weather Warnings in Portugal (2025-2026)
• Researcher for EPIC-WE: Empowered Participation through Ideating Cultural Worlds and Environments (2023-2026)
• Researcher for REPLAY: European Joint Masters in Games (2023-2029)
• Researcher for GameIN - Games Inclusion Lab (2023-2025)
• Researcher for Emergency Preparedness and Response for Advanced Modular Reactors (2025-2028)

Dr. Fonseca actively participates in the HEI-LAB (Human Environment Interaction Lab), where her team develops VR simulations for examining psychological responses in high-stress scenarios. Her current work bridges multiple domains including rehabilitation technology, emergency response systems, cultural heritage applications, and digital literacy assessment, demonstrating a commitment to interdisciplinary research with practical societal impact.