Academic Experience

Research Experience

⮚ Assistant Professor – Department of Psychology, American College of Greece, Athens, Greece (01/09/2023 - Present)

Teaching: Research Methods, Statistics, Cognitive Psychology, and Neuropsychology.

Research: projects pertaining to the implementation of immersive technologies (VR/AR/XR) in cognitive psychology and neuroscience. Set up and curation of the virtual reality lab. Conducting research (experimental design, data analysis, data visualization) and dissemination of the outcomes to scientific societies (conferences and journals) and the general public (demonstrations and social events).

Responsibilities: Software development, ET integration and metrics, User-Interface (UI) Design, Gaze-based and Hand-based interactions design, User-Experience (UX) Evaluation, Statistical Analyses, and Dissemination of Results.

Relevant Skills: Unity3D, Software Development, C#, UX, UI, HCI, Research, Data Science (Statistical Analyses & Modelling), Dissemination, Accessibility, Ergonomics, Neuropsychology.

⮚ Visitor Academic – Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom, (01/09/2022 - Present)

Responsibilities: Supervision of postgraduate students, especially for projects pertaining to the implementation of immersive technologies (VR/AR/XR) in cognitive psychology and neuroscience. Set up and curation of the virtual reality lab. Conducting research (experimental design, data analysis, data visualization) and dissemination of the outcomes to scientific societies (conferences and journals) and the general public (demonstrations and social events).

Relevant Skills: Unity3D, Software Development, C#, UX, UI, HCI, Research, Teaching & Supervision, Mentoring, Data Science (Statistical Analyses & Modelling), Dissemination.

⮚ Adjunct Lecturer & Researcher – Department of Psychology, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA), Athens, Greece (01/08/2022 - Present)

Affiliations: Department of Psychology, Department of Informatics & Telecommunications

Lab: Experimental Psychology & Human-Computer Interaction Lab.

Research Topic: Ecological valid neuropsychological and eye-tracking (ET) assessment of cognitive ageing and neurocognitive disorders by using immersive virtual reality software with enhanced ergonomics and usability.

Relevant Skills: Unity3D, Software Development, C#, UX, UI, HCI, Research, Data Science (Statistical Analyses & Modelling), Dissemination, Accessibility, Ergonomics, Neuropsychology.

⮚ Project Manager and Researcher – Research & Development Team, Habilis LTD, Athens, Greece (01/09/2022 - Present)

Projects:

Spaut - Table Tennis for People with Autism (ERASMUS++): The aim of the SPAUT project is on one hand to join forces with table tennis coaches and physical education teachers (with knowledge on table tennis), training and certifying them as “coaches with knowledge and perception of Autism” and on the other hand to involve people with Autism in the table tennis sport, encouraging participation and physical activity.

VRESS - Enhancing Social Skills through Virtual Reality Applications (RESEARCH – CREATE – INNOVATE): The purpose of the proposed project is to develop a platform for creating personalized virtual reality scenarios through which people with Autism will be able to participate in first-person simulations of social situations based on the Social Stories construction technique.

Responsibilities: Projects’ Management, Software development, ET integration and metrics, User-Interface (UI) Design, Gaze-based and Hand-based interactions design, User-Experience (UX) Evaluation, Statistical Analyses, Dissemination of Results.

Relevant Skills: Unity3D, Software Development, C#, UX, UI, HCI, Research, Data Science (Statistical Analyses & Modelling), Management, Dissemination, Accessibility, Ergonomics, Neuropsychology.

⮚ Academic Consultant (Contractor) – BrainSensum LTD, Athens, Greece (01/08/2022 - 31/12/2022)

Responsibilities: Collaborative design of use cases, composition of biometrics (eye-tracking and EEG) to be used for creating (AI) machine learning and deep learning models for predicting mental and physical workload and detecting emotional states. Collaborative design of user-interfaces and tasks.

Relevant Skills: UX, UI, HCI, Research, Data Science (Statistical Analyses & Modelling), Artificial Intelligence (Machine Learning, Deep Learning), Ergonomics, Human Factors, Neuropsychology, Product Design & Evaluation

⮚ Postdoctoral Researcher – National Research Institute of France of Computer Science and Automation (INRIA), Rennes-Bretagne, France (01/10/2020- 1/10/2022)

Affiliations: Institut National de la Recherche en Informatique et en Automatique (INRIA), Université de Rennes, Institut de Recherche en Informatique et Systèmes Aléatoires (IRISA), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS).

Project: EU-Horizon 2020 – TACTILITY. This project incorporates rich and meaningful tactile information into novel interaction systems with virtual environments, increasing the quality of immersive virtual reality and of tele-operation of robotic systems such as drones, robotic arms, and mechatronics.

Responsibilities: Work packages (WP) 3, 5, 7, and 8. WP-3: Electrotactile feedback representation and perception; WP-5: Human experience of the virtual touch; WP-7: Electrotactile system integration & validation; WP-8: Dissemination, exploitation, & communication of the research findings.

Relevant Skills: Unity3D, Software Development, C#, UX, UI, HCI, Research, Data Science (Statistical Analyses & Modelling), Dissemination, Accessibility, Ergonomics, Human Factors, Haptics, Product Design & Evaluation.

⮚ Academic Consultant (Remote) – NeoAuVRa LTD, Istanbul, Turkey, (01/02/2021 – 31/10/2021)

Responsibilities: Leading the R&D team, and evaluation of cognitive games developed. Composition of domains, subdomains and metrics for cognitive module to be used for creating (AI) machine learning models for predicting cognitive training outcomes. Collaborative design and validation of new games for cognitive and psychomotor assessments, and clinical populations.

Relevant Skills: Software Development, UX, UI, HCI, Data Science (Statistical Analyses & Modelling), Artificial Intelligence (Machine Learning), Ergonomics, Human Factors, Neuropsychology, Product Design & Evaluation

⮚ Research Software Developer (VR, Psychopy) - Department of Psychology, United Kingdom, University of Edinburgh (01/09/2017–30/08/2018)

Responsibilities: Designing, programming (C# & Python), and developing VR apps on game engine Unity and 2D psychological experiments on Psychopy.

Relevant Skills: Unity3D, Software Development, C#, UX, UI, HCI, Research, Product Design & Evaluation.

⮚ Doctoral Researcher - Department of Psychology, United Kingdom, University of Edinburgh (01/11/2016-31/10/2020)

Responsibilities: Design and Development of VR-EAL, Experiments, Data Analyses, and Scientific Publications.

Relevant Skills: Unity3D, Software Development, C#, UX, UI, HCI, Research, Data Science (Statistical Analyses & Modelling), Dissemination, Human Factors, Neuropsychology, Product Design & Evaluation.

Teaching Experience

⮚ Assistant Professor – Department of Psychology, American College of Greece, Athens, Greece (01/09/2023 - Present)

Teaching: Research Methods, Statistics, Cognitive Psychology, and Neuropsychology.

Relevant Skills: Unity3D, Software Development, C#, UX, UI, HCI, Research, Data Science (Statistical Analyses & Modelling), Dissemination, Accessibility, Ergonomics, Neuropsychology.

⮚ Adjunct Lecturer – Department of Psychology, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece (01/10/2022 - Present)

Program: MSc in Cyberpsychology.

Course Topic: Immersive Technologies and Metaverse in Cyberpsychology.

Responsibilities: Creation of Material, Instruction, Supervision

⮚ Adjunct Lecturer – Department of Psychology, Panteion University, Athens, Greece (01/10/2022 - Present)

Program: MSc in Psychology.

Course Topic: Immersive Research Methods in Cognitive Psychology.

Responsibilities: Creation of Material, Instruction, Supervision

⮚ Associate Lecturer – Department of Psychology, University of Central Lancashire, United Kingdom, (01/10/2022 - Present)

Programs: BSc in Clinical Psychology, BSc in Psychology, BSc in Forensic Psychology, BSc in Psychotherapy, BSc in Child Psychology, BSc in Cognitive Psychology, BSc in Neuropsychology, MSc in Cognitive Neuropsychology, MSc in Forensic Psychology, MSc in Child Psychology.

Courses: Academic Writing, Cognitive Psychology, Research Methods & Statistics, Specialist Techniques in Psychology, Cyberpsychology, Cognitive Neuropsychology, Neuropsychological Assessment and Interventions.

Responsibilities: Creation of Material, Instruction, Exercises, Essays, and Exams’ design and evaluation.

⮚ Lecturer/Instructor – University of Rennes (joined with INRIA, CNRS, and INSA), Rennes, France (1/10/2020 – 30/06/2022)

Program: MSc in Computer Science

Course: Virtual Reality and Multi-Sensory Interaction

Focus: Cognition, Perception, and Human Factors in Virtual Reality

Responsibilities: Creation of Material, Instruction, and Exams’ (co-)design and evaluation.

⮚ VR/AR/XR Workshops’ Coordinator and VR Specialist - uCreate Studio, Information Services, School of Informatics, University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom (01/12/2018- 31/09/2020)

Responsibilities: Presentation and coordination of workshops at uCreate studio. Expert assistance in VR/AR/XR projects of students, researchers, and staff members of the University of Edinburgh.

⮚ Tutor - Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom (12/09/2017- 31/09/2020)

Courses: 1) Research Methods & Statistics (II & III), 2) Cognitive Neuropsychology, and 3) Academic Writing.

Evaluation of Teaching Skills: 4.5/5 (2017-18, 2018-19, 2019-20)

Responsibilities:

- Preparation of the lab session, monitoring students’ progress, demonstrating programming (R) and statistical skills and practices, responding to students’ queries (in person and online – discussion board), grading assignments/exercises, and discussing novel techniques in R and R-Studio.

- Explaining the theoretical framework for each cognitive function and the respective neuropsychological tests.

- Providing guidelines and suggestions pertinent to structure, clarity, & cohesion of academic writing.

Supervision Experience

⮚ PhD Supervisor – Department of Psychology, University Complutense of Madrid, Madrid, Spain (01/09/2023 - Present)

Student: Palmira Victoria Gonzalez Erena

Project Title: Neuropsychological, neurophysiological, and ecological assessment of healthy and pathological ageing in immersive virtual reality.

⮚ MSc Supervisor – Department of Psychology, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA), Athens, Greece (01/10/2022 - Present)

Students: Sokratis Papaefthimiou and Tassos Giannakopoulos

Projects Titles:

1. The effects of cybersickness in virtual reality on verbal working memory, visuospatial working memory and psychomotor skills: detection of cybersickness and temporary cognitive and/or motor impairment using questionnaires and eye tracking.

2. Usability and accessibility of the interactions and the action's specific effects on the perception of the size, distance and time in the 3D Trail Making Test in the Virtual Reality.

⮚ MSc Supervisor – Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom (1/9/2022 - Present)

Student: Andrea Lizarraga

Project Title: Virtual Reality and Computerized Cognitive Assessments: The Role of IT Skills on Performance.

⮚ MSc External Supervisor – Department of Psychology, University of Central Lancashire, United Kingdom (1/9/2022 - Present)

Students: Chrysa Bitsi and Elina Zioga

Projects’ Titles:

1. The Effects of Well-Being on Zoom Fatigue in University Students Attending Online Courses.

2. The Effects of Gaming Experience on the Development of Cognitive Skills in Early Adolescence.

⮚ MSc External Supervisor – Department of Psychology, University of East London, London, United Kingdom (1/9/2022 - Present)

Students: Agapi Papadopoulou and Aristotelis Ferentinos

Projects’ Titles:

1. Cybersickness and Performance in Individuals with High Susceptibility to Motion Sickness.

2. Virtual Reality and Computerized Cognitive Assessments: The Role of IT Skills on Performance.

⮚ MSc External Supervisor – Department of Psychology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden (1/2/2022 - Present)

Student: Danai Roussi

Project Title: Relaxation and Mindfulness Therapy in Virtual Reality.

⮚ PhD External Co-Supervisor – Department of Psychology, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA), Athens, Greece (01/08/2022 - Present)

Student: Alexandra Katsikis

Project Title: Immersive Virtual Reality Intervention and Psychoeducation Tools for Dyslexia

⮚ MSc External Supervisor – Department of Psychology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden (1/2/2022 - Present)

Student: Danai Roussi

Project Title: Relaxation and Mindfulness Therapy in Virtual Reality.

⮚ PhD Supervisor – Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom (1/2/2022 - Present)

Student: Rea Evangelia Michalopoulou

Project Title: Child and Adolescent Understanding of COVID-19 and its impact on Mental Health: A Novel

Virtual Reality (VR) Assessment Tool for Mental Health.

⮚ MSc External Supervisor – Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom (1/9/2021 – 1/9/2022)

Students: Ray Amir and Josie Linnell

Project Title: Temporary Cognitive and Motor decline induced by Cybersickness in Virtual Reality.

⮚ PhD Co-Supervisor – Institut National de la Recherche en Informatique et en Automatique (INRIA) and Institut National des Sciences Appliquées (INSA), Rennes, France (1/10/2020 – 1/10/2022)

Student: Sebastian Vizcay

Project Title: Electrotactile Feedback for Hand Interactions in Virtual Reality.