Events

Drs. Kimberly Hieftje and Deepa Camenga, and our postgrad associate, Palomi Kurade, will conduct a workshop titled “Immersive Technology-Driven Strategies to Incorporate Healthy Coping and Emotion Regulation Skills into Cannabis and Nicotine Vaping Prevention Curricula” at the Annual Virtual Cannabis Awareness and Prevention Conference hosted by the Halpern-Felsher REACH Lab at Stanford Medicine on April 22, 2026 from 12:25 PM – 1:35 PM ET. Learn more here.

Dr. Veronica Weser will present a talk entitled “Chopsticks, Tennis Rackets, and Canes: What Tool Experts Reveal About Embodiment”at 2pm as part of the Sports Neuroscience Breakout Session. The International Symposium on Embodied Cognition (ISEC 2026) will bring together leading researchers, clinicians, educators, and students to explore the dynamic connections among body, brain, and behavior. Learn more and register here.

Dr. Kimberly Hieftje and Bernard François, Preview Labs founder, will be giving a TED-style talk hosted by the Center for Transformative Media. The talk will include topics about immersive media and VR storytelling! Learn more here. 

Dr. Asher Marks and Kimberly Hieftje gave a talk entitled, "Clinical XR: When Immersion Isn't the Hard Part" at the Experiential Conference, MIT Reality Hackathon! They spoke about immersion outside of VR (i.e. spatial audio, UX/UI for audio experiences, screen-free immersive experiences).

Dr. Asher Marks gave a talk during the Grand Rounds at St. Joseph's Children's Hospital in Paterson, NJ.  The talk was entitled, "The Yale Center for Immersive Technologies in Pediatrics: Using Immersive Technologies to Improve the Health and Well-Being of Youth and Young Adults".

Dr. Kimberly Hieftje presented “The Grief We Don’t Teach: Virtual Reality as a Tool for Understanding Child Loss.” Her talk explored how immersive storytelling through the VR experience Year of the Cicadas can deepen understanding of parental grief and foster empathy, education, and support. The session highlighted how virtual reality can be used as an innovative tool for emotional learning and community dialogue around grief. 

Our postgraduate associate, Shawn Van, presented the game “Year of the Cicadas,” which was selected as a finalist for the Serious Games Showcase and Challenge. The project was showcased in Orlando, FL, from December 1–4, 2025, where it was considered for the competition’s top awards. Learn more here.

Dr. Veronica Weser presented the talk “Mixed Reality Source Memory Monitoring: Misremembering Digital Objects Presented with Mixed Reality as Real Objects,” co-authored by Crocker, Drs. Hieftje, Marks, and Hoffman. The study examines how immersive technologies such as the Apple Vision Pro influence memory formation and source identification, highlighting implications for cognitive science and the responsible use of mixed-reality tools.

Drs. Kimberly Hieftje and Asher Marks presented talks at the Pediatric Palliative Oncology Academic Leadership Collaborative & Symposium, November 6 – November 7, 2025, Memphis, TN.

Dr. Hieftje presented her talk “Year of the Cicadas: An Immersive VR Experience Exploring the Enduring Nature of Parental Grief,” and Dr. Marks  presented “Simulated Digital Psychedelics (Si-PHI): A Non-Pharmacologic Immersive Intervention for Pediatric Palliative Care.” Learn more here.