I study social media and well-being at UIUC's Virtual Futures Lab. My research broadly encompasses mental health, communication technology, and embodiment, with a focus on avatar representation in immersive social VR contexts. I take a multi-disciplinary approach to my work, drawing from perspectives in social affective neuroscience, communication, and human computer interaction. Oct 2025: Joined The Virtual Future’s Lab @UIUC as a Postdoctoral Researcher.
July 2025: Our book chapter on re-conceptualizing avatars for social VR was published in The Oxford Handbook of Media Psychology.
May 2025: I’ll be at ICA’s 75th Annual Conference presenting our work on mitigating social toxicity and as a panelist discussing avatars in VRChat!