Matthew Louis Mauriello is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Computer and Information Sciences at the University of Delaware , where he directs the Sensify Lab . He holds a PhD in Computer Science from the University of Maryland (2018) and completed postdoctoral work at Stanford University (School of Medicine, 2020; School of Public Policy & Environmental Engineering Department, 2019). Research interests span Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), Ubiquitous Computing, and User-Centered Design with applications in: Sustainability Human-Building Interaction Wearable Technology Personal Informatics Educational Game Design Mental Health Interventions Recent publications highlight trends in stress monitoring (skin-like biosensors, workplace wellbeing), energy auditing (thermography systems), and educational technology (block-based programming tools for teachers). His work appears in ACM CHI, ACM Human-Computer Interaction, and Building and Environment. Scientific awards include: Best Paper Honorable Mention, CHI 2016 Best Paper Honorable Mention, CHI 2015 Best of WebSci'18 Teaching at University of Delaware encompasses courses like Educational Game Design Operating Systems Advanced Web Technologies Computing for Social Good with a focus on project-based learning and systems thinking.
Maja J Matarić is the Chan Soon-Shiong Chaired and Distinguished Professor of Computer Science at the University of Southern California's Viterbi School of Engineering, with courtesy appointments in Neuroscience and Pediatrics. She serves as founding director of the USC Robotics and Autonomous Systems Center, co-director of the USC Robotics Research Lab, and Principal Scientist at Google DeepMind. Previously, she held leadership roles as USC's interim Vice President of Research (2020-2021) and Vice Dean for Research (2006-2019). Her educational background includes: PhD in Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence from MIT (1994) MS in Computer Science from MIT (1990) BS in Computer Science from University of Kansas (1987) Matarić pioneers Socially Assistive Robotics (SAR) , a field her lab named, focusing on human-robot interaction that provides assistance through social rather than physical support. Her research targets critical health and wellness challenges including post-stroke rehabilitation, autism spectrum disorder therapy, cognitive exercises for Alzheimer's patients, ADHD academic support, and mental health interventions. She develops systems modeling user engagement, personality, and motivation, with extensive real-world deployments in schools, rehabilitation centers, and homes. Analysis of her recent publications reveals dominant themes in cognitive health robotics (2025 CHI paper on LLM-powered elder care), pediatric assistive technology (2025 IDC speech therapy review), and adaptive preference modeling (2025 HRI contrastive learning work). Her research consistently bridges machine learning with human-centered design for vulnerable populations. Major scientific recognition includes: ACM Athena Lecturer Award (2024) ACM Eugene L. Lawler Humanitarian Award (2024) ACM Fellow (2020) Presidential Mentoring Award (2011) Multiple society fellowships (AAAS, IEEE, AAAI) As a dedicated mentor, Matarić has championed underrepresented groups through CRA-W, placing numerous women in faculty positions. She leads USC Viterbi's K-12 STEM Outreach Program serving low-income Los Angeles schools and authored The Robotics Prime for student education. Her research has secured significant funding enabling real-world technology transfer, with documented impact in rehabilitation centers and homes through deployable SAR systems. Her Robotics Research Lab at USC drives innovation in embodied AI, with current projects spanning LLM-integrated elder care robots, ADHD academic companions, and autism therapy systems. The lab emphasizes co-design with end-users and rigorous real-world validation across diverse populations.
Richard W. Robins is a Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of California, Davis, within the College of Letters and Science. He is Director of the Personality, Self and Emotion Laboratory and the California Families Project, and a core faculty member of the NIMH Training Program in Affective Science. Ph.D. in Psychology (Social/Personality), University of California, Berkeley (1995) B.A. in Psychology, University of California, Berkeley (1988) His research centers on personality development, self-esteem, narcissism, self-conscious emotions (pride, shame, guilt, contempt), and developmental trajectories of Mexican-origin youth. He employs longitudinal and experimental designs with multi-method data collection across biological, psychological, and sociocultural domains. His recent publications reflect a strong trend in longitudinal analysis of personality and emotion, particularly focusing on developmental pathways in youth, self-evaluation processes, and cultural influences on emotional expression. Key themes include the interplay between temperament and social behavior, the stability of self-esteem, and the distinction between genuine self-worth and narcissism. Award highlights include: 2012 Diener Award for Outstanding Mid-Career Contributions to Personality Psychology Fellow of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology (2011) Distinguished Scientific Award for Early Career Contribution (APA) Theoretical Innovation Prize (SPSP) Chancellor’s Fellow at UC Davis (2002–2007) Professor Robins has secured research funding from the National Institutes of Health, particularly supporting the California Families Project. He has served as Associate Editor for Personality and Social Psychological Review and Journal of Personality and Social Psychology , and has edited major handbooks in personality psychology. He mentors graduate students and teaches courses in Personality Psychology, Personality Development, The Self, Emotion, and Longitudinal Methods. He leads the Personality, Self and Emotions Laboratory at UC Davis, which focuses on social development, emotion regulation, and self-esteem using integrative and naturalistic research approaches.
Professor Rebecca Lawson is a Professor of Neuroscience and Computational Psychiatry at the University of Cambridge, affiliated with the Department of Psychology and Bye-Fellow at Peterhouse College. Her research focuses on understanding how humans learn to make predictions under uncertainty, with applications to mental health conditions such as anxiety and depression. She leads the Prediction and Learning (PaL) Lab, which combines computational modeling, neuroimaging (e.g., 7T MRI), and behavioral experiments to study cognitive processes in typical and atypical populations. Key research interests include computational psychiatry, autism spectrum disorders, neuroimaging techniques, and the neurochemical basis of learning mechanisms. She has received significant funding, including a £4.3m Wellcome Mental Health Award and the Sir Henry Dale Fellowship. Notable contributions include advancing theories of neural gain and sensory expectations in autism, as well as studies on uncertainty processing in anxiety and depression. Professor Lawson holds academic awards such as the BNPA Lishmann Prize and the BAP Psychopharmacology Award. She actively contributes to public engagement, including initiatives like Knit-a-Neuron and involvement with PrideinSTEM. Her lab collaborates internationally, with projects like the CamRAA study investigating autism-anxiety overlaps and the Chemical and Brain Basis of Uncertainty (CBBU) study exploring pharmacological interventions. Education: PhD in Cognitive Neuroscience (University of Cambridge), BA (Hons) Psychology & Philosophy (University of Glasgow). Grants: £4.3m Wellcome Award, Parke-Davis Fellowship, Lister Institute Prize. Labs/Teams: Principal Investigator of the PaL Lab; collaborations with MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, Yale University, and Brown University.
Catherine Butler is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and Programme Director of the DClinPsy Programme at the University of Bath's Department of Psychology. She holds external examiner roles at Cardiff University, University College London, and others. Her academic journey includes a Doctor of Clinical Psychology from the University of East London, an MBA from the Open University, and advanced training in Systemic Supervision at the University of Exeter. Her research focuses on Inclusion, Whiteness, Gender and Sexual Minorities, Intersectionality, and Systemic Therapy, with contributions to anti-racism and climate crisis studies. Key projects include exploring systemic therapy supervision, validation of therapeutic scales, and shared learning courses with clinical psychology trainees. Dr. Butler’s scholarly work addresses topics such as gender dysphoria in neurodivergent populations, relapse experiences in addiction therapy, and systemic training in clinical psychology programs. She has been recognized for her contributions through awards like the Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. Her professional activities include roles on the British Psychological Society committee, conference presentations, and advisory roles in academic and clinical settings. She has supervised 18 doctoral students and led projects funded by UK charities such as the Association for Family Therapy.
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State UniversityUnited States
Tae-Ho Lee is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at Virginia Tech, with affiliated appointments in the School of Neuroscience and Translational Biology, Medicine, and Health. His research focuses on affective and cognitive neural development across the lifespan, neurodegeneration, and family-based neural dynamics. PhD in Brain and Cognitive Science, University of Southern California M.A. in Clinical Psychology, Korea University B.A. in Psychology, Korea University Dr. Lee’s work explores brain connectome dynamics, dyadic neural concordance in families, and age-related attentional control. He employs neuroimaging techniques to study how familial and environmental factors shape emotional and cognitive outcomes in adolescents and older adults. Recent publications highlight trends in longitudinal studies , parent-child neural similarity , and functional connectivity in emotion regulation . Key areas include autism spectrum disorder, substance misuse risk, and the role of socioeconomic factors in brain development. Rising Star , Association for Psychological Science (2020) Dr. Lee is not currently accepting students and leads the Affective Neurodynamics and Development (AND) Lab at Virginia Tech.
Elisha David Klonsky is a Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of British Columbia, Faculty of Arts. His primary research classification is Clinical Psychology with a secondary focus in Social/Personality Psychology. He directs the Personality, Emotion, and Behaviour Lab (PEBLab) and maintains an active research program while accepting graduate students for the 2023/24 application cycle. Dr. Klonsky earned his PhD from the University of Virginia in 2005. His educational background has positioned him as a leading researcher in clinical psychology, particularly in suicide research. Dr. Klonsky's research interests center on suicide theory, motivations, and the transition from suicidal thoughts to attempts. His work also spans metascience, emotion research, and psychological/clinical assessment. He has developed the influential Three-Step Theory (3ST) of suicide, which operates within an ideation-to-action framework. His research examines how emotional pain, impulsivity, and nonsuicidal self-injury relate to suicidal behavior, with particular interest in developing better assessment tools for clinical practice. Recent work has expanded into metascience, addressing the replication crisis in psychology. His publication record shows consistent high-impact work primarily in suicide research, with recent emphasis on suicide motivations, emotion measurement, and theoretical frameworks. The research demonstrates strong clinical applicability while maintaining rigorous scientific methodology. Dr. Klonsky has received numerous prestigious awards including: UBC Killam Research Prize (2020) Killam Faculty Research Fellowship (2017) American Association of Suicidology: Edwin S. Shneidman Award (2015) Association for Psychological Science Rising Star (2011) David Shakow Early Career Award (2011) American Psychological Association Fellow (2010) Dr. Klonsky has successfully mentored numerous graduate students who have gone on to academic positions at institutions including Old Dominion University, McGill University, Wesleyan University, and Texas Tech University. His research has been supported by significant funding from organizations including the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, and National Institute of Mental Health. Current projects include studies on suicidality in youth with autism spectrum disorder and advancing the measurement of emotional experience. The Personality, Emotion, and Behaviour Lab maintains active research programs in suicide, emotion, metascience, and related areas, with particular emphasis on developing parsimonious models of suicide and better understanding suicide motivations and warning signs.
Mascha C. van der Voort is a Full Professor at the University of Twente's Faculty of Engineering Technology, Department of Human Centered Design. Her work focuses on transdisciplinary design methodologies, inclusive technology, and sustainability. She has contributed over 180 research outputs since 1996, with notable contributions to empathy-driven design for neurodiverse populations and climate-resilient infrastructure solutions. Expertise includes: Design Theory, User-Centered Design, Automation in Design, and Sustainability. Recipient of the Best Paper Award at the 10th International Conference on Design, User Experience and Usability (2021). Active in academic governance, serving as Chair of the Faculty of Engineering Technology Board since 2021. Her research integrates transdisciplinary collaboration, with recent work exploring futures studies and co-speculation methodologies. She has supervised 18 graduate students and contributed to datasets addressing river research communication and autistic lifeworld-informed technology design.
Zakia Hammal is an Assistant Research Professor with dual appointments at Carnegie Mellon University, holding positions in the Robotics Institute within the School of Computer Science and the Department of Biomedical Engineering in the College of Engineering. Her work bridges computer science, machine learning, artificial intelligence, and social/behavioral psychology to advance computational models for human behavior analysis. Dr. Hammal's educational background includes a PhD in Computer Science, a Master of Artificial Intelligence and Algorithmic with specialization in Image Processing, and an Engineer's degree in Computer Science with specialization in Computer Systems. Her academic journey has positioned her at the intersection of technical expertise and healthcare applications. Her research focuses on multimodal human behavior modeling in social interaction, with particular emphasis on health informatics and affective computing (Emotion AI). Dr. Hammal's work has pioneered computational models for multimodal assessment of psychiatric disorders, including depression severity evaluation, automatic pain intensity measurement, assessment of expressiveness in children with facial abnormalities, analysis of non-verbal communication in mother-infant interaction, and identification of behavioral markers in autism spectrum disorder. Her approach integrates computer vision, machine learning, and behavioral psychology to create systems that can objectively measure human behaviors that are often subjective in clinical settings. Analysis of her recent publications reveals a consistent trajectory toward more sophisticated multimodal approaches to healthcare challenges, particularly in pain assessment and mental health diagnostics. Her work increasingly emphasizes interpretable AI models that can translate complex behavioral patterns into clinically meaningful insights, with growing attention to applications for vulnerable populations including infants, elderly patients, and those with craniofacial abnormalities or autism spectrum disorder. Women in AI Awards North America 2023 – AI Researcher of the Year Award Outstanding Reviewer Award at FG 2015 Best Paper award at ACII 2015 Outstanding Paper award at ICMI 2012 Dr. Hammal has secured significant research funding, primarily from the U.S. National Institutes of Health, including an R01 grant for developing a Multimodal Behavioral AI platform for pain assessment and management, and additional grants for automatic pain assessment in older adults with dementia. Her leadership extends to mentoring through her involvement in organizing workshops and conferences that train the next generation of researchers in affective computing and health informatics. As an active leader in her field, Dr. Hammal serves as ACM ICMI Steering Board Committee Member, Associate Editor for IEEE Transactions on Affective Computing and IEEE Transactions on Multimedia, and has organized numerous influential workshops including the International Workshop on Automated Assessment of Pain and Face and Gesture Analysis for Health Informatics. She is set to serve as Program Chair for FG 2025, ACII 2025, and ICMI 2026, demonstrating her growing influence in shaping the future direction of research in multimodal interaction and affective computing.
Elizabeth A. Simpson is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Miami's College of Arts and Sciences. She serves as Associate Director of the Child Division and directs the Social Cognition Laboratory, focusing on infant social and cognitive development through interdisciplinary methodologies. Education: Ph.D. in Psychology (unspecified institution) Key Research Areas: Developmental Psychology, Autism, Social Cognition, Primate Studies, Visual Attention, Infant Behavior Her research investigates individual differences in infant visual attention, social motivation, and physiological markers like salivary oxytocin. Recent studies demonstrate: Stability of attentional patterns from newborn to 14 months Sex differences in early face detection Links between oxytocin levels and social affect in infants Neurophysiological markers in newborns later diagnosed with ASD Scientific awards include the NSF CAREER grant for neonatal imitation research. She contributes to open science initiatives through the ManyBabies consortium and develops remote eye-tracking methods for broader accessibility. Current lab work explores: Parent-infant affective interactions during still-face episodes Predictive power of early attentional biases Development of pathogen avoidance behaviors Cross-species comparisons of social cognition
California Institute of Technology (Caltech)United States
John P. O'Doherty serves as the Fletcher Jones Professor of Decision Neuroscience within Caltech's Division of Humanities and Social Sciences, holding continuous faculty appointments since 2004 (Assistant Professor 2004-07, Associate Professor 2007-09, Professor 2009-present, Fletcher Jones Professor 2021-present). He previously directed the Caltech Brain Imaging Center (2013-17) and maintains affiliations with the T&C Chen Center for Social and Decision Neuroscience. His educational background includes a B.A. from University of Dublin, Trinity College (1996) and D.Phil. from University of Oxford (2000). His research focuses on computational and neural mechanisms of reward-based learning and decision-making , employing fMRI, intracranial recordings, and mathematical modeling to investigate how the brain solves complex decision problems through evolutionarily conserved algorithms. Key areas include Reinforcement learning systems (model-based/model-free arbitration) Observational and social learning mechanisms Neural representation of value, risk, and uncertainty Computational phenotyping of mental disorders Temporal dynamics of goal persistence Analysis of his 2023-2025 publications reveals dominant trends in computational psychiatry (problem gambling, autism traits), hierarchical decision-making, and neuroeconomic modeling of social behavior. His work consistently integrates cross-species computational frameworks with human neuroimaging to identify transdiagnostic mechanisms. While specific awards beyond his endowed professorship aren't detailed, his leadership as Brain Imaging Center Director and prolific high-impact publications demonstrate significant recognition. Current advising includes graduate researcher Sneha Aenugu on goal-persistence projects, with administrative support from Mary A. Martin (mmartin@caltech.edu). His active research program continues to pioneer computational approaches to understanding decision pathologies.
Marc V Fuccillo is an Associate Professor of Neuroscience at the Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, where he leads a research laboratory focused on understanding the neural circuit mechanisms underlying behavioral control. His work bridges molecular, synaptic, and behavioral approaches to investigate how striatal circuits regulate mouse behavior from simple motor patterns to complex goal-directed actions. Fuccillo holds dual appointments in the Neuroscience and Cell and Molecular Biology Graduate Groups at Penn and maintains an active laboratory investigating the synaptic and circuit basis of neuropsychiatric disorders. Education: B.A. in Molecular and Cellular Biology and Music Performance (Violin) from Brown University (1998) Ph.D. in Developmental Genetics from New York University School of Medicine (2007) M.D. from New York University School of Medicine (2008) Fuccillo's research centers on the synaptic and circuit mechanisms of behavioral control, with particular emphasis on striatal circuits. His laboratory employs a range of technologies including mouse genetics, in vitro electrophysiology, in vivo imaging, and quantitative behavioral analysis to explore how neural circuits of the striatum regulate behavior and how disruptions in these circuits contribute to neuropsychiatric disorders. His work has particularly focused on autism-associated abnormalities in behavioral control, examining how synaptic adhesion molecules like neuroligins and neurexins shape circuit function and behavior, with significant findings regarding D1 dopamine receptor positive medium spiny neurons in the nucleus accumbens. Analysis of Fuccillo's recent publications reveals a strong focus on striatal circuit function across multiple dimensions. His work spans molecular neuroscience (examining synaptic adhesion molecules), cellular physiology (studying specific neuron types in striatal circuits), systems neuroscience (mapping circuit connectivity), and behavioral neuroscience (quantifying motor learning and decision-making). A unifying theme is how disruptions in specific molecular pathways lead to circuit-level abnormalities that manifest as behavioral phenotypes relevant to neuropsychiatric disorders, with particular attention to autism, OCD, and schizophrenia models. Scientific Recognition: Publications in high-impact journals including Nature Neuroscience, Current Biology, Cell Reports, and Neuron Research supported by multiple NIH grants including NIMH F32, NIMH K01, and HHMI Gilliam Fellowship awards for lab members Fuccillo actively mentors a diverse group of trainees including postdoctoral fellows, graduate students, and undergraduates. His laboratory has produced numerous successful alumni who have gone on to faculty positions, medical residencies, and graduate programs at prestigious institutions. His mentoring approach emphasizes technical skill development across multiple neuroscience disciplines while fostering independent scientific thinking. Current research in his lab is supported by NIH funding focused on understanding the molecular architecture of striatal circuits and their role in behavioral control, with three major research directions exploring molecular logic of striatal circuits, circuit mechanisms of behavioral control, and striatal dysfunction in neuropsychiatric disease models. The Fuccillo Laboratory operates within the Department of Neuroscience at the University of Pennsylvania, with access to state-of-the-art facilities for molecular, electrophysiological, imaging, and behavioral neuroscience research. The lab maintains active collaborations with other neuroscience research groups at Penn and beyond, creating a rich intellectual environment for studying the neural basis of behavior. Current research directions include investigating whether there is a molecular logic to striatal circuit composition, how striatal circuits shape behavioral control, and what mouse models of autism, schizophrenia, and OCD can reveal about striatal circuit dysfunction in disease pathophysiology.
Lauren A. Delisio is an Associate Professor of Special Education at Rider University's Department of Teacher Education. She has taught graduate and undergraduate courses in special education, inclusive practices, and assistive technology since 2015. Ph.D. in Exceptional Student Education (2015, University of Central Florida) Graduate Certificate in Autism Spectrum Disorders (2012, University of Central Florida) M.S. in Teaching (2005, Pace University) B.A. in Communications (2000, Rider University) Her research focuses on universal design for learning (UDL) , assistive technology , and inclusive education practices for students with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and intellectual disabilities. She has explored trauma-informed instruction, STEM accessibility, and evidence-based practices in inclusive classrooms. Her recent publications analyze UDL implementation, video prompting for independence, and pandemic impacts on inclusive education. She has received grants through the Department of Education's Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) for Project LEAD and served as a doctoral intern with OSEP. Delisio has contributed to STEM research via video game integration for students with disabilities and supported alumni engagement through data collection. She collaborates with service providers, universities, and policymakers to improve educational outcomes for neurodiverse learners.
Jonathan H. Cantor is a Policy Researcher and Professor of Policy Analysis at the RAND School of Public Policy . His research focuses on health policies related to substance use disorder , mental health , and health behaviors , integrating frameworks from health economics , policy analysis , and public health . He leads the Mental Health and Addiction Treatment Tracking Repository , a national longitudinal database for substance use and mental health treatment facilities. His work examines treatment availability for older adults (funded by the National Institute on Aging) and telehealth services in mental health (funded by the National Institute of Mental Health). Recent NIMH grants aim to quantify mental health crisis services supply and its impact on population health. His recent publications (e.g., JAMA , Health Affairs ) address topics like opioid treatment accessibility , telehealth disparities , and food insecurity in higher education . His research spans health equity , preventive healthcare , and modeling/simulation approaches.
Ashli Owen-Smith is a behavioral scientist affiliated with the School of Public Health at Georgia State University , where her research focuses on mental health disparities, suicide prevention, and integrative/complementary approaches for complex mental-physical health conditions. She works with underserved populations including refugees/immigrants, incarcerated individuals, and LGBTQ+ communities through community-based participatory research and mixed-methods frameworks. Her current projects are funded by CDC , DBHDD , and DPH . Education: Ph.D. in Behavioral Sciences (Emory, 2009), S.M. in Public Health (Harvard, 2005), B.A. in Psychology (Smith College, 2001) Her research spans mental health , trauma , suicide prevention , and mindfulness-based interventions . Recent work examines telehealth adaptations for chronic pain and mental health, vaccine hesitancy in refugee communities, and social determinants of suicide . She leads studies on gender-affirming care and health disparities in LGBTQ+ populations. Key article trends include epidemiological analysis of suicide risk factors, COVID-19 impacts on mental health, ICD-10 coding for autism, and complementary medicine in trauma recovery. Subfields span telehealth , health equity , mental-physical comorbidity , and community engagement . Students she has mentored include C.A. Scarlett , T. Griner , and M.M. Sesay . Her work integrates public health policy , clinical research , and health systems analysis .
