Events

Dr. Kimberly Hieftje will present “The Grief We Don’t Teach: Virtual Reality as a Tool for Understanding Child Loss.” Her talk will explore 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 will highlight how virtual reality can be used as an innovative tool for emotional learning and community dialogue around grief. Sign up here.

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

Dr. Veronica Weser will present 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.

Our lab (XR Peds) will host its Fall 2025 Demo Day on November 18, 2025, showcasing a series of cutting-edge health and clinical VR experiences and games developed over the past year. The event features keynote speaker Dr. Allison Jing, an Assistant Professor at RMIT University and an Adjunct Researcher with the Empathic Computing Lab at the University of South Australia and the University of Auckland. She will discuss how immersive technologies can enhance empathy, social awareness, and human connection through mixed and extended reality. Sign up here.

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.

Our Creative Producer/Project Director, Justin Berry spoke with Stuart Neilson, PhD, about neurodivergent people’s experience of place and space within art museums. This keynote conversation was held at the Yale Center for British Art.

Dr. Kimberly Hieftje and Bernard François (Founder, Preview Labs) gave a seminar talk on “Co-Creating Immersive Experiences: Where Research Meets Prototyping. They share how researchers and game developers can collaborate to create impactful health-focused VR projects. Their partnership combines research insight with rapid prototyping, showcased through two works to illustrate how close collaboration can expand VR's potential in clinical training and personal storytelling.

Dr. Asher Marks presented the lab’s work at Mayo Clinic’s Grand Rounds during his sabbatical this past September. The title of the talk was “The Yale Center for Immersive Technologies in Pediatrics: Using Immersive Technologies to Improve the Health and Well-Being of Youth and Young Adults.” 

Drs. Asher Marks, Kimberly Hieftje, and Shu Wei will be attending the Serious Play Conference in Rochester, NY. Drs. Asher Marks and Kimberly Hieftje will giving a talk titled, "Future of Immersive Technology in Serious Games." Dr. Shu Wei will be giving a talk titled, "Beyond Pulse: Biometric XR for Health & Art."

Michael Gancz participated in the NIME Conference, showcasing a presentation of the Screenless Optical Theremin with Tremolo (ScOTT) and earning a paper acceptance.