👋 Meet the VERG Lab!
The Virtual Experiences Research Group (VERG) is a diverse team of Ph.D. students and undergraduate researchers from computing and healthcare backgrounds. Continue reading to learn more about the people behind the VERG Lab!
Group Director
Benjamin Lok, Ph.D.
I’m a Professor in the Computer and Information Sciences and Engineering Department at the University of Florida and entrepreneur and co-founder of Shadow Health, Inc., an education company. I want to impact our world through improving how people communicate with each other. Did you know we are still using the same tools for hundreds of years in how to prepare people to have high-stakes conversations (such as health care providers talking with patients or teachers talking with students)? My group is leveraging the amazing advances in virtual humans, human-computer interaction, and artificial intelligence to create virtual social experiences that can help teach and train people to have better conversations with conversation partners.
Ph.D. Students
Andrew Maxim
About
I am a PhD student in Human-Centered Computing. My research focuses on healthcare interventions delivered by a virtual human to increase healthier outcomes. My research in virtual humans explores the many nuanced aspects of vocal characteristics to understand how the non-verbal aspects of speech can improve the effectiveness of healthcare interventions.
Research Interests
Health Communication, Digital Healthcare, Conversational Agents, Voice Technology
Personal Website
https://andrewmaxim.com/
Christopher You
About
Hey there! I’m Chris, a 5th-year PhD student specializing in virtual reality and human-computer interaction. I design virtual humans using VR & AI technologies to support mental well-being, research enrollment, and education.
Research Interests
Conversational Agents, Mental Health & Wellness, VR, AI & LLM’s
Personal Website
https://christopheryou.github.io/
Rashi Ghosh
About
I am a PhD student in Human-Centered Computing. My research is centered around online, web-based virtual human interventions to deliver health information and ultimately promote healthy behaviors. I am interested in the interplay of virtual humans’ communication style with social constructs such as gender and how this impacts the effectiveness of health message delivery.
Research Interests
Health Communication, Digital Healthcare, Conversational Agents, Gender & Technology
Personal Website
https://rashighosh.com/
Xuening Peng
About
I am a 2nd-year PhD student in Human-Centered Computing, with a research focus on integrating physical movements into the design of health interventions in immersive VR to enhance physical health and mental well-being. My work also explores the design of virtual humans to foster self-efficacy and drive positive behavioral changes in education and healthcare contexts.
Research Interests
Mental health & Wellness, immersive VR, conversational agents
Zhanhong Huang
About
I am Zhanhong Huang, a Ph.D. student with the Virtual Experiences Research Group. My previous research explored how AI interprets digital footprints to understand human interests and how this influences people’s expression and understanding of their own interests. Currently, my research focuses on integrating AI with virtual human technologies to create functional virtual humans that promote mental health, cultural preservation, and social well-being.
Research Interests
Virtual/Augmented Reality, AI & LLM’s, Mental Health & Wellness
Danish Tamboli
About
I am a PhD student focused on the intersection of immersive technologies and human-centered care. My research explores how Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) can be leveraged in combination with Virtual Humans to enhance mHealth, affective computing, and social interaction. I am particularly interested in the design of such conversational agents to improve health communication and emotional well-being, and how they can be applied to real-world challenges in healthcare.
Research Interests
Conversational Agents, Virtual Humans, Affective Computing, mHealth, Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality
Personal Website
https://danishtamboli.com/
Undergraduate Students
Malia Giachino
Amanda Jiang
Sarthak Gupta
Anton Varshavsky
Want to Know More?
You’ve just seen our current team — now learn more about the researchers who have helped shape VERG over the years. Explore our past members, see where alumni have gone, and discover the backgrounds of both current and former team members below.