News & Press

Tuesday, October 13, 2026

Dr. Veronica Weser is scheduled to participate in Meaningful Play 2026 at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on October 13, 2026. Dr. Weser is scheduled to present “Qualitative Analysis of Player Dialogue During Multiplayer Gameplay of an HIV and STI Prevention Intervention Designed for Black Adolescent Girls” from 4:15–4:38 PM. Dr. Weser will also showcase Dr. Hieftje's project, Year of the Cicadas during the Game Exhibition and Competition at 7:00 PM.

Wednesday, September 23, 2026

Dr. Kimberly Hieftje is the keynote speaker for the 2026 Digital Health Symposium at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. Her keynote, entitled " Serious Games, XR, and the Things Technology Can’t Fix", is part of a program focused on human-centered digital health, immersive technologies, implementation, and evaluation. The symposium takes place on September 23, 2026.

Friday, August 7, 2026

Thursday, June 18, 2026

Dr. Shu Wei presented “Your Past, Present, and Future in the Same Room: Self-Dialogue in XR” which introduced a mixed-reality framework that enables users to embody and interact with their child, present, and future selves through self-dialogue in XR. Dr. Kimberly Hieftje also showcased “Year of the Cicadas,” and Dr. Wei showcased “The Arborist” as technology demonstrations at the AWE Playground and Art Festival, where attendees experienced and provided feedback on both immersive experiences.

Wednesday, June 17, 2026

Our Co-Director, Dr. Kimberly Hieftje, and the Year of the Cicadas team received the 2026 Auggie Award for Best Indie Creator(s) at AWE USA 2026 in Long Beach, California. Year of the Cicadas is an immersive virtual reality experience exploring parental grief, child loss, and meaning-making over time. During AWE USA, the project was also featured as a technology demonstration at the AWE Playground and Art Festival, where attendees experienced the installation firsthand.

Thursday, June 11, 2026

Year of the Cicadas was named a 2026 Games for Change Awards Finalist for Best in Health & Wellness. Developed by the Year of the Cicadas team, the immersive VR experience explores parental grief, child loss, and meaning-making

Thursday, June 4, 2026

Dr. Veronica Weser presented the poster "Caregiver Infection Prevention Education in the NICU through Virtual Reality Hand Hygiene Training Game" at Yale Med Ed Day. Co-authored by Drs. Thomas Murray, Asher Marks, and Kimberly Hieftje, their work demonstrated how virtual reality can support caregiver education and improve infection prevention training in neonatal intensive care settings.

Friday, May 29, 2026

Dr. Deepa Camenga presented the technology demonstration, “Youth Prevention through Immersive Technology: Invite Only VR.” Dr. Kimberly Hieftje presented the poster, “Virtual Reality for Vaping Prevention in Middle Schools: A CFIR-Based Assessment of Implementation Readiness.” Finally, our postgraduate associate Palomi Kurade presented the poster, “Evaluation and Optimization of a Virtual Reality Game for Nicotine and Cannabis E-Cigarette Prevention Among Middle School Students.”

Friday, May 15, 2026

Year of the Cicadas was named a 2026 International Serious Play Awards Finalist in the Healthcare category. The immersive VR experience explores parental grief following the death of a child through interactive narrative, personal storytelling, and immersive sound.

Wednesday, May 13, 2026

Our postgraduate Associates Palomi Kurade and Shawn Van represented the lab at the 14th Annual Pediatric Research Forum at Yale on May 13. Shawn presented a poster on using improvisational theater techniques to co-design authentic peer interactions around vaping in virtual reality. Palomi presented two posters on evaluating a virtual reality video game for nicotine and cannabis e-cigarette prevention in middle school students and examining middle school students' perceptions of the mental health impacts of nicotine and cannabis vaping.