Events

Dr. Kimberly Hieftje, Dr. Asher Marks, Dr. Veronica Weser, Skylar Bartush (Postgraduate Associate), and Abigail Crocker (Graduate Student Collaborator) attended the 2025 Cedars-Sinai Virtual Medicine (vMED) Conference in Los Angeles, CA. The team had a strong presence at the conference with a total of six presentations that showcased our innovative research in projects spanning simulated psychedelics to a virtual experience on parental grief.

Associate Director of XRPeds, Dr. Veronica Weser, was invited to attend the 2025 Eastern Society for Pediatric Research Conference as a plenary speaker. Her panel, "Artificial Intelligence and Advanced Technologies in Pediatric Research," joined by Drs. Kristyn Beam (Harvard) and Mark Mercurio (Yale), explored how cutting-edge technologies like AI and virtual reality are transforming pediatric research, from diagnosis to medical education and more.

Drs. Kimberly Hieftje and Asher Marks participated in the Drexel University DIGM Colloquium series in their talk."A Twister, a Pandemic, and a Vision: A Reflection of 5 Years of XR Pediatrics." They reflected on their journey, milestones, and vision for the future of immersive pediatric care.

Dr. Kimberly Hieftje shared her emotional story describing the feeling of grief after the loss of a child during the Yale Pediatric Grand Rounds: Marjorie S. Rosenthal Stories in Pediatrics. Her experiences inspired the creation of her game, Year of the Cicadas.

Co-Directors, Drs. Kimberly Hieftje and Asher Marks presented their talk titled, "Little Hands, Big Worlds: XR for Kids at the Yale Center for Immersive Technologies in Pediatrics" at MIT's Reality Hack Hackathon. They presented the latest recommendations regarding XR use and development for kids.

Dr. Asher Marks presented a talk titled, "The Yale Center for Immersive Technologies in Pediatrics: Using Immersive Technologies to Improve the Health and Well-Being of Youth and Young Adults," at the Johns Hopkins Pediatric Grand Rounds. His talk explored applications of XR in healthcare and education and detailed the various ongoing projects within the lab and center.

Dr. Veronica Weser was invited to speak to the University of Oklahoma's Chapter of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society in a talk entitled, "Discover how video games, informed by evidence, are created with extended reality technology". Her talk emphasizes the recent projects by XRPeds, the implications of VR in mental health and education, and the benefit of utilizing VR for youth populations.

Postgraduate Associates, Mona Sinha and Skylar Bartush, represented XRPeds at the 2024 Connecticut School Based Health Centers Conference. They showcased our nicotine and marijuana vaping prevention intervention, Invite Only VR: reHASHED.

Dr. Marks and Dr. Mairi Wac (University of Bristol) gave their talk, "Virtual Reality for AYA’s: Shared Challenges and Successes in the UK and US" at the 6th Annual Virtual Reality and Healthcare Europe Symposium. Highlights of their talk include integration of AI with VR surgical training simulations, muscle-stimulating sensors for physiotherapy, VR for storytelling and patient education, and the revolution of surgical training through a neurocognitive approach.

Dr. Hieftje attended the Meta Educators Community Summit in Palo Alto, CA. The summit brought together approximately 70 educators leading the use of immersive technologies in education. Representatives from 26 universities, K-12 institutions, and Meta explored innovative university-level VR initiatives and contributed feedback to shape Meta’s VR education efforts.