Human-Computer Interaction in healthcare and education. Adaptive Technology-Enhanced Therapy, Co-Design, Autism, Gamification, Neurodevelopmental Difficulties, Inclusive Design, Special Education.
I am an Associate Professor at the Department of Computing Science. My research interests include various topics in Human-Computer Interaction in healthcare and education such as Co-design for Healthcare, Iterative Design of Autism Therapy, Adaptive Technology-Enhanced Physiotherapy, Gamified Therapeutic Technologies for Children with Neurodevelopmental Disorders, and Inclusive Activity Design for Special Education.
Previously I was a lecturer at the Department of Biomedical Engineering and Health Systems and Digital Futures postdoc fellow in the Division of Robotics Perception and Learning at KTH with the project on Designing Gamified Robot-Enhanced Interventions for Children with Neurodevelopmental Difficulties. I got my Ph.D. in Robotics on “Designing Gamified Activities with Haptic-Enabled Tangible Robots for Therapy and Assistance” from EPFL, in 2021.In my previous research, I had the chance to design for the therapy of multiple patient groups going through cognitive or physical rehabilitation from 3 to 77 years old. Neurodevelopmental disorder (NDD) is an umbrella term defining a group of conditions that are attributed to impairment of the brain and-or neuromuscular system including attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder (ASD), cerebral palsy (CP), development coordination disorder (DCD), etc.
From an early age, these difficulties result in different degrees of emotional, physical, social, academic as well as economic consequences for individuals, and in turn families, and eventually society. I believe that with intelligent technologies and gamification, we can provide effective interventions and practices where we design inclusive, adaptive, and engaging practices with and for neurodivergent children.
My future research focus is co-designing and developing gamified technology-enhanced interventions and play experiences for children and adolescents with neurodevelopmental difficulties (NDDs) and changing the focus to "fixing the environment" instead of "fixing the child". I aim to investigate the role of technology in different inclusive practices, including neurodivergent and neurotypical groups where they play and learn together, how to involve children in the design process of technology-mediated activities, and how to design inclusive gamified practices to enhance social interaction between the neurotypical and neurodivergent children as well as their families.