News & Press

Tuesday, April 29, 2025

Postdoctoral Associate, Dr. Shu Wei, presented her doctoral work in a Late-Breaking Work session titled, "Physiological Responses to Affective Virtual Coach Design in a VR Fear of Heights Consultation" at the 2025 CHI Conference in Yokohama, Japan. Her presentation explored how emotional design elements in virtual reality coaches, like facial warmth and nodding, affect physiological stress and regulation during automated mental health interventions.

Wednesday, April 23, 2025

Dr. Kimberly Hieftje participated as a panelist in the event "Tech Tools in Training and Patient Care," hosted by the Health Care & Life Sciences Council of the Greater New Haven Chamber & Affiliates. Joined by Ted Dinsmore (President, SphereGen), Dr. Deborah Morrill (Assistant Professor, SCSU), and Dr. David Pearlstone (CEO, DICOM Director), the panel facilitated a community dialogue on the current and future use of immersive technology in healthcare and education, exploring its benefits, challenges, and implementation strategies.

Wednesday, April 2, 2025

The XRPeds team traveled to Los Angeles, CA for the Cedars-Sinai Virtual Medicine Conference. It was an inspiring and eventful weekend full of groundbreaking research using extended reality to revolutionize healthcare! Our team had a strong presence, presenting two posters, three talks, and one panel. The team also had an exciting journey to Universal Studios Hollywood where we visited Super Nintendo World! Overall, an incredibly successful and insightful weekend!

Thursday, March 27, 2025

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.

Friday, March 14, 2025

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.

Tuesday, March 11, 2025

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.

Monday, February 24, 2025

The experience Si PHI (Simulated Psychedelic Immersive Experiences: Healthcare Intervention for Depression) led by Mohini Ranganathan, MBBS with team members Kimberly Hieftje, PhD; Asher Marks, MD; and Jose Cortes-Briones, PhD, is selected as a 2025 Blavatnik Award Winner. Since 2017, Yale and the Blavatnik Family Foundation have partnered to propel promising research beyond the university walls, bridging the gap between discovery and real-world application. Through the Blavatnik Fund for Innovation at Yale, a $65 million accelerator fund managed by Yale Ventures, 90 unique projects have led to 23 startups, 4 acquisitions, nine investigational new drug (IND) clearances, and work across diverse therapeutic modalities—including small and large molecules, nucleic acids, PNAs, ADCs, phage therapy, nanoparticles, exosomes, medical devices, digital health, and platform technologies.

Wednesday, January 29, 2025

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.

Saturday, January 25, 2025

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.

Friday, December 20, 2024

We recently set out to explore how virtual reality (VR) is being used in Connecticut public high schools. We surveyed 181 schools and heard back from 60% of them (not bad!). To dig deeper, we also interviewed 19 school administrators to better understand their experiences and perspectives. Funded by the Connecticut State Department of Education, this study highlights the opportunities and challenges of bringing VR into classrooms. Learn more about how this innovative technology could shape the future of education in Connecticut!