Lora Appel, PhD
Prescribing VRx Lab, York UniversityDr. Lora Appel is an Assistant Professor of Health Informatics at the Faculty of Health at York University, Toronto, Canada. She is Adjunct Researcher at Michael Garron Hospital and a Collaborating Scientist at University Health Network, the largest medical research organization in Canada. Lora heads the Prescribing Virtual Reality (VRx) lab which designs and...
Justin Barad, MD
Osso VRDr. Justin Barad, a gamer and pediatric orthopedic surgeon, is the CEO and co-founder of the award-winning virtual reality startup, Osso VR.While interning at Activision to become a video game developer, a family health incident flung Justin into the world of healthcare and changed the course of...
David Beach, M.Arch.
Drury UniversityDavid R. Beach is an architect and Associate Professor of Architecture at the Hammons School of Architecture at Drury University. Specializing in digital design technology, David is an advocate of full digital immersion as part of a traditional design process leveraging technology to inform process, collaboration to...
Kathleen DeLoach Benton, DrPH, MA
Hospice Savannah & Steward Center for Palliative CareDr. Kathleen Benton is the President and CEO for a local Savannah area Hospice and Palliative Careorganization. Prior to this appointment she served as the Director of Ethics and Palliative Care at St.Joseph’s/Candler Hospital for over a decade.Kathleen earned her doctorate in public health leadership from Georgia...
Julien Brohan, MS
Manager, Business Development and Licensing, Cedars-Sinai Technology Ventures TeamJulien Brohan joined Cedars-Sinai Technology Ventures in 2016 to manage the portfolio of inventions with a focus on medical devices and digital health technologies (from initial disclosure to out-licensing). In addition to this core function, he also manages so-called venture projects, which aims at de-risking early-stage technologies to make...
Martin Brown
University of SydneyMartin is an experienced educator with a background in the media sector. He produced Moulin Rouge, was co-producer of Romeo+Juliet and art director of Strictly Ballroom. He served as Director of Award Courses at the Australian Film Television and Radio School. He is now developing VR training...
Heather Bucalos
Patient AdvocateA two-time cancer survivor, Heather Bucalos, RN, knows first hand of the benefits of virtual reality for patients. She used VR during her month long hospital stay while being treated for blood cancer in 2020. During her 17-year career as a Registered Nurse she realized the benefits of mindfulness and relaxation through...
Kent Bye
Voices of VR PodcastSince May 2014, Kent Bye has published over 1000 Voices of VR podcast interviews featuring the pioneering artists, storytellers, and technologists driving the resurgence of virtual & augmented reality. He's an oral historian, experiential journalist, & aspiring philosopher, helping to define the patterns of immersive storytelling, experiential design, ethical frameworks, & the ultimate...
Ashish Chogle, MD, MPH
Director of the Pediatric Functional Gastrointestinal & Motility Disorders Program; Co-director of the Pediatric Colorectal Center at CHOC Children’s Hospital in Orange County, CaliforniaAshish Chogle, MD, MPH has a passion to help children with difficult to diagnose & treat gastrointestinal conditions. Dr. Chogle uses a holistic approach based on the bio-psycho-social model for treatment of chronic conditions, with a goal to improve the patient’s quality of life. He incorporates the...
Harmon ClarkeHarmon’s Crohn's Disease has limited his ability to be a whole person. In 2000, he was given a health sentence that he did not expect or even know how to accept. Not only was he challenged with Crohn's, but also with a form of ulcerated colitis and eventually diabetes. At such...
Kate Donovan, PhD
Boston Children's HospitalKate Donovan, PhD is the Clinical Director of Immersive Technologies for the Innovation Digital Health Accelerator at Boston Children's Hospital. She is also the Innovation Technology Coordinator for Medicine Patient Services at Boston Children's Hospital and co-founder of Hacking Pediatrics, an annual pediatric focused healthcare hackathon held in...
Mahdi Ebnali, PhD
Harvard Medical School and Mass General Brigham (MGB)Dr. Mahdi Ebnali is a Research Scientist and Faculty member at Harvard Medical School and Mass General Hospital. With a background in Systems Engineering (Ph.D.), Human Factors, and Computer Sciences (M.S.), Dr. Ebnali has developed extensive and multidisciplinary skillsets in tackling scientific and business problems. As a researcher, Dr. Ebnali leverages his expertise...
Wei Gao, PhD
Director, Neuroimaging Research; Co-Associate Director, Biomedical Imaging Research Institute; Professor, Biomedical Sciences and Imaging, Cedars Sinai Medical CenterAs Professor in the Department of Biomedical Sciences and Imaging, Director of the Neuroimaging Program and Associate Director of the Biomedical Imaging Research Institute (BIRI) at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Dr. Gao’s research has been focusing on neuroimaging study of normal/diseased brain mechanisms and early brain development. His...
Alidad Ghiassi, MD
Chief Medical Officer, HIA Technologies, Inc.Dr. Ghiassi is an academic orthopedic hand surgeon and medical entrepreneur in Los Angeles with a wealth of experience in patient care and resident education. He began his career at the VA West Los Angeles Medical Center in 1999. In 2008, he was recruited to become Chief of the Hand Surgery...
Danny Goel, MD, MS, MBA
Clinical Professor, University of British Columbia, Founder and CEO, PrecisionOSDr. Goel is a clinical professor at the University of British Columbia’s Faculty of Medicine in the Department of Orthopedic Surgery. He received his medical degree from the University of Manitoba, pursued his residency training in orthopedic surgery at the University of Calgary, and completed fellowship training...
Harry van Goor, MD, PhD, FRCS
Professor of Surgery, Radboud University Medical CenterHarry van Goor, MD, PhD, FRCS is a Professor of Surgery and past interim chair of the Department of Primary and Community Care of the Radboud University Medical Center. He has published over 350 peer reviewed papers in a broad field of surgical care, medical device development and...
Marie Graham, MSN, FNP, CNM
Director of Virtual and Augmented Reality Lab; Upper School Humanities and Innovation Diploma Teacher at the Mount Vernon SchoolMarie Graham is the director of a high school VR/AR Lab, a teacher of humanities and innovation, and an immersive technology evangelist who leads and learns with an amazing group of students and faculty at The Mount Vernon School in Atlanta, Georgia. Partnering with Alienware, HTC Vive,...
Alex Greene
RSQ TechnologiesAlex spent the last decade designing, selling, and deploying advanced surgical technologies in the orthopedic space, and has an intimate understanding of surgical navigation/robotics, smart instruments, 3D imaging and preoperative planning software, machine learning, and MR/VR. His past work includes the design and implementation of intraoperative sensors, 3D preoperative planning software with predictive...
Rafael Grossmann, MD, FACS
Singularity UniversityDr. Rafael Grossmann is a full-time general, trauma, advanced laparoscopic, and robotic surgeon. Originally from Venezuela and trained as a surgeon in Ann Arbor, Michigan, he has practiced in the US for several years. He is deeply interested in the intersection of Innovation Technology in Healthcare and...
Nirdesh Gupta, PhD
Managing Director, Cedars-Sinai Technology Ventures TeamNirdesh K. Gupta, PhD, is Managing Director of Cedars-Sinai Technology Ventures and the Cedars-Sinai Accelerator. Dr. Gupta also leads and provides key operations leadership to Business Units and Commercial Enterprises at Cedars-Sinai such as 3rd Street Technologies, The Medically Associated Science and Technology (MAST) & Cedars-Sinai Biomanufacturing Center (CBC). Dr. Gupta directed CSTV’s Seed Fund...
Sarah Hill
CEO and Chief Storyteller, HealiumSarah Hill is a 12-time mid-America Emmy award-winning former TV journalist who developed Healium for herself as well as the millions of others who want to self-heal their anxiety for better sleep and human performance. As the CEO of Healium, Hill has 25 years of experience building unique media franchises. A media...
Scott A. Irwin, MD, PHD; FACLP, FAPA, FAPOS
Director Oncology Patient & Family Support Program, Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences, Cedars-Sinai CancerScott A. Irwin, MD, PhD, is a board-certified psychiatrist at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. He strives to improve outcomes for those with cancer or other progressive, potentially life-limiting illnesses, and their families, through leading-edge clinical services, ongoing research, and program development, improvement and implementation. Dr. Irwin has received research funding...
Waguih IsHak, MD, FAPA
Cedars-SinaiWaguih William IsHak, MD, FAPA, is a professor and clinical chief of psychiatry at Cedars-Sinai and clinical professor of psychiatry at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. Dr. IsHak has more than 30 years of experience in psychiatry, psychotherapy, and psychopharmacology, with specific expertise in...
Caroline Jefferies, PhD
Associate Professor, Department of Medicine, Division of Rheumatology at Cedars-SinaiCaroline Jefferies, PhD. joined the Division of Rheumatology, Department of Medicine at Cedars Sinai as an Associate Professor in 2015. She joined Cedars from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) where she served as an Associate Professor of Immunology and Chair of Biochemistry and Immunology....
Daniel Kraft, MDDaniel Kraft is a Stanford and Harvard trained physician-scientist, inventor, entrepreneur, and innovator and is serving as the Chair of the XPRIZE Pandemic Alliance Task Force. With over 25 years of experience in clinical practice, biomedical research and healthcare innovation, Kraft has chaired the Medicine for...
Brian Lacy, MD, PhD
Mayo ClinicBrian E. Lacy, Ph.D., M.D., FACG is currently Professor of Medicine and Consultant at Mayo Clinic Jacksonville. He previously worked at the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center where he was Section Chief of Gastroenterology and Hepatology and Professor of Medicine at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth. Dr. Lacy’s clinical and basic science research...
Omer Liran, MD
Cedars-Sinai Medical CenterDr. Omer Liran is an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center (CSMC). He is a full-stack developer with decades of experience developing various software including an fMRI statistical analyzer, a behavioral health electronic health record system, research applications, artificial neural networks, and...
Bartłomiej Lubiatowski
RSQ TechnologiesThe founder of RSQ Technologies, who runs the company with a vision of catching up the abyss between what is happening at Apple and what medical professionals use every day. The first step on this path is software that really helps healthcare professionals and supports them in their daily practice. Distinguished...
John Luna, MFA
Nationwide Children's HospitalJohn Luna, MFA, is an Interactive Media Designer and Developer and Manager of the Design & Technology team at Nationwide Children's Hospital (NCH) in Columbus, Ohio. He holds an MFA from Ohio State University (OSU), where his research generated new knowledge through design, practice as research, and teaching at the interdisciplinary...
Lorna Massov, PhD, MPH, RM
Victoria University of WellingtonDr. Lorna Massov PhD is a lecturer in Midwifery at the School of Nursing, Midwifery and Health Practice in the Faculty of Health at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand. Dr Massov holds degrees in the Arts, Public Health and Midwifery. Dr Massov is a senior clinical midwife with twenty-five years...
Masayo Matsumura, MD, MBA
CEO, BiPSEE Inc; Specially Appointed Professor, Department of Medical Virtual Reality, Kochi Medical SchoolMasayo Matsumura, MBA, MD, is the CEO of BiPSEE, Inc., a med-tech company and the innovator of VR solution for mental disease and wellness. She founded BiPSEE in 2017. BiPSEE developed and provided VR programs for children that reduce anxiety and pain during medical procedures by the distraction effect of VR. VR programs...
Brian Minton, MHDS
Cedars-Sinai Samuel Oschin Comprehensive Cancer CenterBrian Minton is a clinical research coordinator in oncology at the Samuel Oschin Comprehensive Cancer Institute at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. He coordinates clinical trials across several types of cancer including pancreatic, colorectal, and paraganglioma. In 2022 he led a pilot project in the Cedars-Sinai cancer infusion center to provide virtual reality headsets...
Nathan Moore, RN, MEd (Adult), FAIDH, CHIA
Chief Nursing Information Officer, Western Sydney Local Health District, University of SydneyNathan Moore is the Chief Nursing Information Officer for Western Sydney Local Health District, a PhD candidate with the University of Sydney and a Fellow of the Australasian Institute of Digital Health. Nathan leads and advocates for clinician needs and perspectives in Digital Health Service projects and...
Fernando González Moraga
Lund University and Regional Forensic Psychiatric Clinic in Växjö, SwedenFernando works as a licensed psychologist at the Regional Forensic Psychiatric Clinic in Växjö, Sweden. He is a doctoral student at the Department of Clinical Sciences, Lund, Lund University, and affiliated to the Centre for Ethics, Law and Mental Health at the University of Gothenburg. He currently works within the FOR-VR...
Wendy Morgan, BA
President and Founder, ShiftWendy has over 25 years of experience teaching, training, and designing innovative learning platforms - along with extensive experience designing products and leading teams in development and sales. As a recipient of 5 grants, including one from the National Science Foundation, and in her current role as...
Linda Anh Nguyen, MD
Clinical Professor of Medicine and Vice Chief of Clinical Operations, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Stanford University School of MedicineDr. Linda Nguyen is a Clinical Professor of Medicine at Stanford University and Clinic Chief in the Digestive Health Center. Dr. Nguyen completed medical school at UCLA School of Medicine and GI fellowship training at California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco, CA. Her clinical and research interests include GI...
Tom Norris
Patient AdvocateDaily I deal with chronic back, leg and neck pain, which started in 1988. I served in the United States Air Force for 23 years before being medically retired due to the pain, as a Lieutenant Colonel. My specialty in the service was “Problem Solver/Go-To Person for...
Margot Paul, Psy.D.
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of MedicineMargot Paul graduated from the PGSP-Stanford Psy.D. Consortium in 2022, where she won the award for Outstanding Overall Student (2021). She completed her clinical psychology doctoral internship at the Sepulveda VA in Los Angeles. She is currently a clinical psychology postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Stanford...
Omar Perez, BA
Manager, Buisness Development and Strategic Alliances, Cedars-Sinai AcceleratorOmar Perez is the Manager of Business Development and Strategic Alliances for the Cedars-Sinai Accelerator. Omar has worked in the healthcare field for over 30 years and in Cedars-Sinai collectively for over a decade. For his first 10 years at Cedars-Sinai, he held roles in human resources, quality management, and physician...
Susan Persky, PhD
Director of Immersive Simulation Program; Head of Health Communication and Behavior Unit at NHGRI/NIHDr. Susan Persky is an associate investigator and head of the Health Communication and Behavior Unit. She also directs the Immersive Simulation Program (ISP) within the Social and Behavioral Research Branch (SBRB) at the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), National Institutes of Health (NIH). She earned...
Les Posen, PhD, FAPS
Clinical PsychologistLes Posen is a Clinical Psychologist in Melbourne, Australia and a Fellow of the Australian Psychological Society. He is a twenty-two year veteran of using Virtual reality with clinical populations especially in the areas of anxiety and training. Les has held a long term of interest in...
Caitlin Rawlins, BSN, RN
Veterans Health Administration, XR NetworkCaitlin Rawlins has been a nurse for over 10 years, the last 5 spent with the Department of Veterans Affairs. In 2017, Ms. Rawlins initiated the first positive distraction-focused VR program for pain and anxiety management for post-operative patients in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA). Since that...
Skip Rizzo, PhD
Research Director at USC Institute for Creative Technologies for Medical Virtual RealityPsychologist Skip Rizzo conducts research on the design, development and evaluation of virtual reality systems targeting the areas of clinical assessment, treatment, rehabilitation, and resilience. This work spans the domains of psychological, cognitive and motor functioning in both healthy and clinical populations. Rizzo, whose work using virtual...
Lindsey Ross, MD, MHDS
Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery, Cedars-Sinai Medical CenterLindsey Ross, MD, MHDS is an Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery and fellowship trained Spine Surgeon at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. Throughout her career, she has been steadily dedicated to serving under-resourced populations, mentoring minority students, and performing health services research and health policy changes to address the needs...
Josh Sackman, MBA
AppliedVRJosh Sackman is the President and Cofounder of AppliedVR, a company pioneering virtual reality therapeutics to address unmet needs and improve clinical outcomes for patients with serious health conditions. He has spent the last decade building businesses at the intersection of health and technology. Sackman has been...
Korak Sarkar, MD, FAAN
OchsnerDr. Korak Sarkar completed his undergraduate studies at The Johns Hopkins University where he received degrees in neuroscience, mathematical science, and biomedical engineering. He attended medical school at University of California San Diego and went on to complete his Neurology training at University of California Davis. He...
Raheleh Saryazdi, PhD
KITE-Toronto Rehabilitation Institute-University Health NetworkRaheleh Saryazdi is a postdoctoral researcher under the supervision of Dr. Jennifer Campos at KITE-Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, University Health Network. She is also a member of the Canadian Consortium for Neurodegeneration in Aging (CCNA-Team 17). Raheleh received her PhD in Psychology at the University of Toronto under the supervision of Dr. Craig Chambers. Raheleh’s...
Marlies Schijven, MD, PhD, MHSc
Full Professor of Surgery, Amsterdam University Medical Centers, Chair on Simulation, Serious Gaming, and Applied Mobile Healthcare, Program Leader of e-Health of the Netherlands Federation of University Medical CentersMarlies Schijven (born 1969) is a board qualified surgeon and master in health sciences, researching the field of Mobile Healthcare, Simulation and Serious Gaming and surgical innovations in the OR such as wearables and medical data recorder systems. Her clinical work focuses on surgery for GERD, achalasia and upper GI motility...
Mel Slater, DSc
University of BarcelonaMel Slater is a Distinguished Investigator at the University of Barcelona, and co-Director of the Event Lab (Experimental Virtual Environments for Neuroscience and Technology). He was previously Professor of Virtual Environments at University College London in the Department of Computer Science. He has been involved in research...
Veena Somareddy, MA
Neuro Rehab VRVeena Somareddy is the CEO of Neuro Rehab VR, a VR healthcare start-up aimed at building virtual reality therapy exercises for physical therapy. Her accolades include being recognized as a Top Innovator in North Texas, Fast Company’s World Changing Ideas honoree, and featured in Forbes and Cosmopolitan....
Charisse Sparks, MD, FAAOS
AppliedVRDr. Charisse Sparks, MD., FAAOS is the Chief Medical Officer of AppliedVR, the leader in Immersive Therapeutics through virtual reality. Dr. Sparks has built her career on the solid reputation of positively disrupting hospital services and medical device development. As one of the first three African American...
Brennan Spiegel, MD, MSHS
Cedars-Sinai Medical CenterBrennan Spiegel, MD, MSHS, is director of Health Services Research for Cedars-Sinai and Director of the Cedars-Sinai Master's Degree Program in Health Delivery Science. He directs the Cedars-Sinai Center for Outcomes Research and Education (CS-CORE), a multidisciplinary team that investigates how digital health technologies, including wearable biosensors,...
Richard Vincent
CEO and Co-Founder, FundamentalVRRichard has 20+ years’ experience of building international businesses and has throughout his career sought opportunities for positive market disruption through technological application. It was this desire that led him to co-found FundamentalVR to help address an age-old problem for the medical market; how to create safe, realistic, measurable spaces to learn...
Brenda Wiederhold, PhD, MBA, BCB, BCN
Virtual Reality Medical CenterProfessor Dr. Brenda K. Wiederhold, Ph.D., MBA, BCB, BCN is Co-Founder of the Virtual Reality Medical Center (VRMC), with offices in Sorrento Valley, La Jolla and Coronado, California; Qingdao, China; and Brussels, Belgium. Professor Wiederhold is registered as a Licensed Clinical Psychologist with the California Board of Psychology, the Belgian Commission des Psychologues and the...
Andrea Stevenson Won, PhD
Director, Virtual Embodiment Lab, Cornell UniversityAndrea Stevenson Won is an assistant professor in the Department of Communication at Cornell University, and the director of the Virtual Embodiment Lab. The lab’s research focuses on how mediated experiences change people’s perceptions, and how nonverbal behavior can be tracked and transformed in virtual environments. Applications...
Henry Xiang, MD, MPH, PhD, MBA
The Ohio State University College of MedicineHenry Xiang, MD, MPH, PhD, MBA, is a Professor of Medicine and Epidemiology at The Ohio State University. He is the founding Director of the Center for Pediatric Trauma Research as well as the Research Director in the CDC funded Center for Injury Research and Policy at...
Teri Yarbrow, MS, MFA
MagikaVRxTeri Yarbrow, MS, MFA is a professor of Immersive Reality at Savannah College of Art and Design,and President of MagikaVRx, an Immersive Media Company.Yarbrow is an Emmy and Broadcast Design Association Award-winning Creative Director,Conceptual Designer and Producer for television, new media, and location-based entertainmentprojects. Co-Founder and President...
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