Cedars-Sinai Health System
Director of Health Services Research
Director, Master's Degree Program in Health Delivery Science
Cedars-Sinai
Professor of Medicine
David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA
Professor of Public Health
UCLA Fielding School of Public Health
Dr. Brennan Spiegel is the Director of Health Services Research for Cedars-Sinai Health System and Professor of Medicine and Public Health at UCLA, where he teaches digital health science, health analytics and health economics.
Dr. Spiegel directs the Cedars-Sinai Center for Outcomes Research and Education (CS-CORE), a multidisciplinary team that investigates how digital health technologies, including wearable biosensors, smartphone applications, virtual reality, and social media, can strengthen the patient-doctor bond, improve outcomes, and save money. CS-CORE unites clinicians, computer scientists, engineers, statisticians and health services researchers to invent, test, and implement digital innovations for the clinical trenches, always focusing on the value of technology to patient and their providers. His team developed the largest and most widely-documented medical virtual reality program in the world at Cedars-Sinai. He founded Virtual Medicine, the first international symposium dedicated to medical virtual reality (www.virtualmedicine.health), and is currently writing Virtual Healing, a book about therapeutic VR that will publish in 2020 through Basic Books, a leading science publisher.
Dr. Spiegel has published numerous best-selling medical textbooks, editorials, and more than 200 articles in peer-reviewed journals. He is listed in the Onalytica “Top 100 Influencer” lists for health technology, and is currently the highest ranked academic on this list at #13 in the world. His digital health research has been featured by major media outlets including Bloomberg, the Boston Herald, Forbes, CBS Evening News, Huffington Post, Los Angeles Times, Mashable, NBC News, NPR, PBS, Reuters, The Wall Street Journal, and the Washington Post, among many others. His virtual reality research won the 2017 People’s Voice Webby Award for best technology on the internet. See www.virtualmedicine.health/press for full media coverage.
Beyond his focus on digital health innovations, Dr. Spiegel conducts research across a wide range of healthcare topics. As a member of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Field Advisory Committee, Dr. Spiegel advises on how to conduct high quality clinical trials. His research is funded by the National Institutes of Health, Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI), Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Hearst Foundation, Veterans Administration and the California Initiative for the Advancement of Precision Medicine. Dr. Spiegel is Editor-in-Chief of the American Journal of Gastroenterology – a leading peer-reviewed medical journal. A prolific speaker, Dr. Spiegel is frequently invited to present on his areas of expertise at national and international events, most recently as a keynote speaker at the Consumer Electronics Show, Connected Health Conference, Health 2.0, Health Informatics Medical Society, Exponential Medicine, and the American Psychiatric Association. He practices clinical medicine and maintains an academic teaching practice at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California.
Sanford Health
Dave Newman, MD, is chief medical officer for virtual care at Sanford Health, the largest rural health system in the country. A practicing endocrinologist and informaticist based in Fargo,
ND, Dr. Newman is passionate about health care disparities, especially zip code-based disparities.
An influential voice in the industry, Dr. Newman is regularly invited to contribute his clinical expertise, unique perspective and forward-looking insights on innovation in rural health care delivery. He has presented at high-profile national industry events including the Reuters Digital Health Summit, HIMSS AI in Healthcare Forum and the flagship ATA Nexus Conference among others. In 2023, Dr. Newman was featured in a STAT News documentary for his commitment to using technology to offset major obstacles to health care across the Dakotas, bringing care closer to home for his patients who live hundreds of miles away.
He received a B.S. from Drake University, an M.D. from the University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences, completed an Internal Medicine Residency at Hennepin County Medical Center and completed an Endocrinology Fellowship with the University of Minnesota.
In his spare time, Dr. Newman volunteers as a soccer coach for a Club and Olympic. Development Program and is an amateur DJ. He and his wife, Tracie Newman, MD, MPH, FAAP, have three children and reside in Fargo, ND.
University of Michigan
Rishindra M. Reddy, M.D., M.B.A. is the José José Alvarez Endowed Research Professor in Thoracic Surgery. He was born and raised in Michigan. He earned his undergraduate and medical degrees at Northwestern University and completed his general surgery residency at Washington University-Barnes Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, Missouri. His spent two years during his residency, as a Clinical Research Fellow at the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Maryland. He completed his Thoracic
Surgery residency at the University of Washington and was a visiting fellow at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York. His academic interests include improving outcomes for patients with thoracic cancers, financial disparities in patient care, and resident and medical student education. He has held numerous leadership roles
institutionally, regionally, and nationally. He is the former Surgery Clerkship Director and former Chair of the UM-Comprehensive Robotic Surgery Program. He currently serves as the Director for the Center for Surgical Innovation, the Associate Director for the Statewide General Thoracic Quality Collaborative through the Michigan Society of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, now the Cardiovascular Center MPlan OR Director.
University of Nebraska Medical Center
Associate Vice Chancellor for Clinical Simulation and Assistant Professor, Surgery at the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC). Dr. Boyers’ professional interest is to ensure that healthcare professionals (at all levels of training) are highly prepared to provide the safest possible patient care. This interest includes paying close attention to the well-being of healthcare professionals – and how they learn to work efficiently and effectively in healthcare teams.
Concerned with the escalating number of avoidable deaths due to medical error, Dr. Boyers’ focus is upon transforming the education of healthcare professionals through the adoption of modeling and simulation. She has provided national and global leadership in the concept of creating interprofessional simulation centers. This includes the design, staffing and operations of these centers as well as studying the return on investment. Her professional goals are to advance interprofessional collaboration and see healthcare move towards a competency-based model of training.
Having served in medical education leadership positions at the University of North Carolina, The Ohio State University, OhioHealth and the University of Toledo, Dr. Boyers is currently leading efforts at The University of Nebraska Medical Center to “improve human performance and effectiveness in healthcare.” This involves creating the Davis Global Center in Omaha, NE. This 5-level facility houses an interprofessional simulation center that incorporates a replicated healthcare system – from home to hospital and back - where the transfer of patients and “hand-offs” can be practiced. The Davis Global Center also houses multiple modeling and simulation modalities including XReality, and holographic technologies, thereby embracing modeling, simulation and visualization to stimulate new methods of teaching, learning and conducting research and development.
A lifelong medical educator with significant experience in designing and operating medical simulation centers, Dr. Boyers is well-published and speaks nationally and internationally about transforming the education of healthcare professionals. She enjoys collaborating with other high reliability organizations, including the military, to help identify best training practices related to improving quality, safety, and lowering costs of healthcare. In 2020, Pam was nominated to the National Simulation Center Hall of Fame and has received numerous leadership awards for her contributions to health professions education.
Dr. Boyers previously served for many years as one of the public members for the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) and is an active member of the National Training Simulation Association (NTSA): Patient Safety Workgroup.
Mayo Clinic
Dr. Aman Anand is a Board-Certified Senior Radiation Physicist and the Director of the Mixed Reality Oncology Lab at Mayo Clinic. Trained
at U.T. M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston (UTMDACC), Dr. Anand played a key role in commissioning proton centers both at UTMDACC and Mayo Clinic in Arizona, where he also helped establish advanced clinical care practices.
Currently, he leads pioneering initiatives that blend virtual reality (VR) and artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance clinical workflows and patient experiences. His flagship project, HopeSphere, which virtually transports patients into treatment units to connect with loved ones, has gained widespread interest across RadOnc
department that he now wishes to expand to other units such as but not limited to: end-of-life care, infusion centers, and ambulatory services. Recognized with several competitive awards, Dr. Anand’s innovative work is now receiving institutional support. His expertise extends to haptics, digital twins, and machine learning, where his contributions continue to shape the future of oncology care.
Northwest Florida State College
Dr. Tanya Beauregard has been at Northwest Florida State College for more than a decade and is dedicated to nursing and education. Her journey is marked by a continuous pursuit of excellence and a deep commitment to the nursing profession. With a Doctorate in Nursing Practice (DNP) from Post University, specializing in Educational Leadership, she has demonstrated a profound dedication to advancing students’ knowledge and skills. Her education includes a Master of Science in Nursing Education from Angelo State University and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Hardin Simmons University. Her foundational knowledge of leadership began with a Bachelor of Business Administration from Abilene Christian University, providing her with a unique perspective on management and operational efficiency within healthcare settings.
Professionally, Dr. Beauregard has excelled as a registered nurse with almost two decades of leadership and management experience honing the ability to lead highly engaged teams and implement innovative process improvements which has consistently resulted in superior outcomes in both healthcare and the educational environment. Her skills in collaboration and relational leadership are particularly noteworthy, enabling her to inspire and work effectively with colleagues and students.
Looking to the future, Dr. Beauregard is poised to continue making significant contributions to the field of nursing education, helping to provide students with advanced tools and concepts that are crucial for shaping the future of nursing.
Tan Tock Seng Hospital
Dr. Michael Chia is an emergency physician renowned for his expertise in acute and emergency care. A passionate advocate for medical education, Dr. Chia plays a pivotal role in training healthcare professionals, including doctors, nurses, medical students, and paramedics. He has been at the forefront of pioneering simulation-
based education, driving initiatives at both the departmental and hospital-wide levels, as well as across the broader healthcare cluster.
Dr. Chia is also deeply committed to innovation, constantly exploring new technologies and methodologies to elevate the quality of teaching and patient care. His dedication to improving healthcare delivery through cutting-edge solutions
underscores his reputation as a leader in both clinical practice and medical education.
Aalto University
Marjaana Siivola is a usability engineer (Master and Licentiate of Science (Tech)), a teacher, an elearning specialist, and a childbirth professional. She is an Advanced Certified Birth Doula (DONA) and Lamaze-certified childbirth educator who transformed childbirth education by combining her passion for good usability, online learning and family wellbeing into online childbirth education well before COVID-19. In her latest PhD research, she developed a VR childbirth education program to add experiential learning to childbirth education. Users were an integral part of her research, and parents and midwives provided valuable insights into the program's design.
University of Georgia
I have 24 years of experience in Higher Education including community colleges, private institutions, engineering institutions, and comprehensive liberal arts research universities. My experiences span traditional student affairs work in residence life, student activities, conduct, orientation, enrollment management, and first-year programs. My academic affairs experience includes curriculum and assessment of academic programs, strategic planning, accreditation, pharmacy education, dance, teaching at all degree program levels, and research. I have developed a national reputation through my presentations, publications, and consulting in student affairs and pharmacy education. I have most recently worked with the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education, the Egyptian Knowledge Bank, and Knowledge E to help colleges in Egypt transform their pharmacy education and training of pharmacists. I am known as a renaissance man for the diverse ways I contribute to the success of students and the University of Georgia https://news.uga.edu/assistant-dean-delivers-encore-performances/. I am a firm believer that university educators don't simply serve students through their instruction in their discipline, but by demonstrating serving students in all phases of their life. I maintain a teaching load in Dance, Pharmacy Education, and Higher Education while serving as a senior administrator in the College of Pharmacy. I also Co-Direct the UGA Ballroom Performance Group, a pre-professional dance company at UGA, and choreograph musical theatre productions regionally for other colleges, high schools, and community theatres. I am first a foremost an innovator who believes in connecting people from diverse backgrounds to create new and better ideas. To that end, I teach and train students, faculty, and staff about social and power constructs that create barriers to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Veterans Health Administration
Dr. Anne Lord Bailey is Executive Director of Strategic Initiatives Lab (“Strat Lab”) and Immersive Technology Lead for VHA. Dr. Bailey began as a pharmacy practitioner for Western North Carolina VA Healthcare System (WNCVAHCS) in Asheville, NC, focused on Hepatitis C and innovative care models. In 2017, she began the Innovation Program at WNCVAHCS. In 2021, Dr. Bailey became VHA’s lead for Immersive Technology and then the first Executive Director of Strat Lab in 2023. She has worked with experts and thought leaders in government, academia, and industry, while co-leading the expansion of the VHA Extended Reality (XR) Network from the founding five facilities to over 170, engaging more than
2,900 VA employees, and helping guide implementation of immersive technology use at scale for more than 40 indications. In 2022, Dr. Bailey was awarded International Virtual Reality in Healthcare Association’s Hero Award for dedication to the growth of immersive technology in healthcare, G2Xchange Change Agent Award, and the Service to the Citizen Award. In 2023, she was named a Top 12 Finalist for the Service to America Medal People’s Choice Award and Washington Pinnacles Executive of the Year. In 2024, she became a Washington Pinnacles Healthcare Executives to Watch.
Valkyrie Industries
Ivan Isakov, CTO and co-founder at Valkyrie Industries. After 8 years working in academia (UCL & Imperial College London) on nanoelectronics, he co-founded Valkyrie Industries to bring haptic technology to industries and consumers. For the last 7 years in the company, he has been developing a variety of haptic products, including suits, gloves and armbands, and has created multiple VR experiences in creative, industrial, and healthcare fields. He has pioneered muscle haptics, the immersive use of neuromuscular stimulation for fitness and recovery. He is an international speaker, educator and a creative coder.
VNTANA
Ashley Crowder is a pioneer in 3D, digital twins and spatial computing technology, a trusted and
influential business executive, and speaker with expertise in launching scalable 3D content and
mixed reality platforms with companies like Meta, Wolverine Worldwide, and Astec Industries. As the
CEO & Co-founder of VNTANA, Ashley leverages her engineering background, and leads the overall
direction and technology development to shape the future of commerce by making it easy to create a
3D version of every product in the world.
Crowder has 14 patents on 3D graphics and hologram technology and is a member of the Khronos Group to help create standards in 3D technology. She was named one of the inaugural members of the AWE Hall of Fame for making immense contributions to shape the metaverse. She was also named one of USC’s leading Engineering CEOs, won the Patrick Soon Innovation Award and AIS Lumiere Award. She has been featured in Meta’s “What is the Metaverse” course on Coursera, Vogue Business, Bloomberg, TechCrunch, and Retail Touchpoints. Her passion for educating brands and creators on the core values of Web3, has been instrumental in helping to move the metaverse industry forward.
doxy.me
Triton combines behavior science and video games to fight loneliness and despair. He received his Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of Florida, where he studied Behavior Analysis for health, co-founded the telehealth-focused Behavioral Health and Technology Research Clinic, and collaborated on research using VR to humanize experiences in the intensive care unit. He publishes peer-reviewed research on telehealth and supports the evidence-based focus of doxy.me solutions at doxy.me. He is currently co-leading development of Doxy.me VR for immersive telehealth, in collaboration with Lucid Reality Labs and with grant funding from the National Institute of Mental Health. As Science Lead at doxy.me, he partners with researchers and developers on grant-funded projects for doxy.me’s mission to make telehealth for everyone.
Conversage
Proudly directing our digital health company, ConverSage, that serves all ages with an AI-enabled offering to address mental health and mental performance.
James A Haley VA Hospital
Jamie Kaplan is a Recreation Therapist at the James A Haley VA Hospital. Jamie has a bachelor’s degree in Recreation Therapy from the University of Florida and a Master’s Degree in Special Education and Assistive Technology from Bowling Green State University. He has been a therapist for over 26 years, 17 at the VA. He currently
runs the virtual reality and adaptive video gaming programs for physical medicine and rehab as well as the spinal cord injury unit. He is considered a subject matter expert in both virtual reality and
adaptive gaming within the VA system and serves on the VA Field Advisory Board for Assistive Technology.
HouseCall VR
Co-Founder
HouseCall VR
Podiatrist
Brandywine Podiatry
Dr. Ciavarelli is a Doctor of Podiatric Medicine (DPM), ABMSP board certified in Primary Podiatric Care. She specializes in the field of primary podiatry, with a focus on preventative, orthopedic, and dermatologic care. Her clinical experiences ranges from community care in private practice to facility-based care.
Dr. Ciavarelli is the co-founder of HouseCall VR, an early-stage startup creating immersive patient educational content with the aim to create a universal language between patients and doctors.
Dr. Ciavarelli is committed to the medical profession, her patients, and the greater community. She currently has the honor to serve her professional and local community through various director and leadership positions in the government and non-profit sectors.
hypnoVR
HypnoVR is the leading Digital Therapy in Pain & Anxiety Management, used in over 500 hospitals and clinics in 10 countries. Prior to founding HypnoVR Nicolas has spent 20 years in the technology and digital industry, both in product management and business development functions.
Since 2015 Nicolas is a co-owner of Culture Dot Digital and Ozango, 2 companies enabling cultural institutions to embrace the digital revolution by building products and services that help them reach current and new audiences.
In 2014 Nicolas joined PayPal as Senior Director of Products, EMEA, in charge of leading and developing PayPal's product strategy for the Europe, Middle East and Africa region.
Before joining PayPal, Nicolas spent 5 years at Microsoft where he grew the digital media presence of MSN in France and was also one of the founders of youmag, a mobile content service, sold to FIMALAC at the end of 2013.
Nicolas is a graduate from EDHEC Business School in France and holds an MBA from the University of Notre Dame, Indiana, USA.
Veterans Health Administration
Deputy Director, Clinical Tech Innovation
VA Immersive Program Manager
Office of Healthcare Innovation and Learning
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
Caitlin Rawlins has been a Nurse since 2011 and with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) since
2017. In her first year of VA practice, she initiated the first positive distraction-focused virtual reality program for pain and anxiety management in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA). Ms. Rawlins then co-led the development of the VHA Extended Reality Network and played an integral role in the creation of the VA Immersive Program. She now continues to aid in leading VHA innovation and immersive technology utilization as Director of Clinical Tech Innovation, co-lead of the VHA Extended Reality (XR) Network, Immersive Collaborations lead, and active member of the E3 Alliance and E3 Operations Workgroup in the Office of Healthcare Innovation and Learning. Since, 2017, she has directly supported the expansion of XR technology use from just a few sites to over 90% of VA Healthcare Systems and XR network engagement to more than 2,900 VA employees, including working as program manager, leading national pilots, facilitating data collection, and the development of healthcare integration resources in close collaboration with various VA program offices.
Xennial Digital
Xennial Digital is Douglas’ third startup. The company focuses on building Virtual and Augmented Reality enterprise solutions and platforms for both academic and corporate organizations, with a strong focus in the healthcare industry.
Douglas’ vision is to create a comprehensive Virtual Reality medical campus to train professionals in all areas of medicine, from nurses to first responders to healthcare technicians. Through its collaboration with the University of Miami School of Medicine, Xennial Digital has begun building simulation training labs for nurses and first responders.
Douglas is an Executive Member of Singularity University Miami.
IterationZero
Principal Consultant
IterationZero LLC
Laura Kusumoto is a proven executive leader, skilled in the disciplines of technology innovation. Her expertise is seeing beyond hype and harnessing the business value that emerging and disruptive technologies can bring to work. Applying experiences from working for Meta, Deloitte, Disney, Kaiser Permanente, LEGO and more, her passion is helping organizations identify the best problems to target with innovative solutions, and driving towards their successful piloting and implementation. Her work has paved the way for first-mover products such as AI chatbots in health care, immersive avatar-based training, VR for employee well-being, and beyond.
In 2023, Laura formed IterationZero LLC as a boutique consultancy offering innovation services that enable emerging technologies for the benefit of business and everyday work within the enterprise. Laura serves on the Board Executive Committee for the Virtual Worlds Society, and on the Advisory Board for XR Women.
Moffitt Cancer Center
Dr. Sarah Hoffe is the Section Head of GI Radiation Oncology at Moffitt Cancer Center and joined the faculty in 2006. She is a Senior Member at Moffitt and Professor in the University Of South Florida Morsani College Of Medicine’s Department of Oncologic Sciences. Dr. Hoffe’s research and clinical interests include cancers of the esophagus, stomach, liver, pancreas, bile duct, rectum, colon, anus, as well as neuroendocrine cancers. She has experience with advanced radiation therapy techniques such as intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT), three dimensional conformal radiation therapy (3D-CRT), stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT), radioembolization, and image guided radiation therapy (IGRT) using endoscopically implanted fiducial markers. At Moffitt, she works closely with her multidisciplinary colleagues including GI surgeons, medical oncologists, gastroenterologists, radiologists and pathologists to develop new treatments for patients with GI cancers. She is very interested in 4D PET/CT imaging and works with the PET/CT committee at Moffitt In addition to GI cancers and radiation oncology, Dr. Hoffe is also interested in the integration of novel patient engagement technologies that will improve the patient experience, such as piloting novel virtual reality tools. After completing her undergraduate studies at Brown University, Dr. Hoffe received her MD degree from the University of Vermont. She then completed a transitional year internship at Mayo Clinic Jacksonville followed by residency in radiation oncology at Duke University Medical Center and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and fellowship at MD Anderson Cancer Center. Dr. Hoffe devotes a significant portion of her time to the promotion of medical education. Nationally, she is the Director of eContouring at ASTRO, is on the advisory board for the Contemporary Radiation Oncology Journal, and is a contributor to the Up to Date Online educational site, having co-authored the section on bone metastases. She serves on the ASTRO Education Committee and the HIMSS connected patient committee. Locally, she is on the Editorial Board of Cancer Control Journal and is active at the USF Morsani College of Medicine where she is a coach for the SELECT program and the leadership competency co-director. In 2009, Dr. Hoffe was the first radiation oncologist at Moffitt to be selected as the Physician of the Year.
Ringling College of Art & Design
Department Head
Virtual Reality Development
Ringling College of Art and Design
At Ringling College of Art and Design, Martin Murphy is the Drs. Joel and Gail Morganroth endowed Department Head of the Virtual Reality Development major. His experience in computer graphics spans over thirty years, with a sustained focus on real-time applications. He has been a product designer and producer for interactive media for a variety of clients. In addition to his current leadership role, he has served as Worldwide Director of Art for major games publisher. He has also collaborated as part of a leadership team at a game studio. Among his many accomplishments, he has contributed to the creation of visual effects for feature films at Warner Brothers Digital Studio, broadcast graphics packages for the likes of CBS, FOX and CNN, theme parks attractions at Walt Disney World, and the creation of more than twenty video games for Activision, Midway Games, and SEGA. More recently, he has put his skills and experience to virtual worlds and immersive media. Martin has nearly 16 years of experience teaching in Higher Education. He was an adjunct faculty member at Columbia College in Chicago first, then a full time instructor at Ringling College, and he earned a Master's of Education at USF with a concentration in Instructional Technology and Simulation. Marty also serves as a competition judge for career and technology student organizations for high schools and middle schools across the state of Florida and Nationally.
Stanford University
Conference Co-Chair
Behavioral Neuroscientist
Stanford University
Walter Greenleaf is a neuroscientist and a medical technology developer working at Stanford University. With over three decades of research and development experience, Walter is considered a leading authority in the field of digital medicine and medical virtual reality technology.
Research Focus:
Walter’s current research focus is on developing computer supported clinical products, with a specific emphasis on applying virtual reality and digital health technology to address difficult problems in behavioral and physical medicine such as Post-traumatic Stress, Anxiety Disorders, Depression, Traumatic Brain Injury and Stroke, Addictions, and Autism Spectrum Disorder.
His early research was on age-related changes in the neuroendocrine system and the effects on human behavior.
Academic Positions:
Walter is currently a Distinguished Visiting Scholar at Stanford University’s MediaX Program, a Visiting Scholar at Stanford University’s Virtual Human Interaction Lab, and the Director of Technology Strategy at the University of Colorado National Mental Health Innovation Center. He previously served as the Director of the Mind Division, Stanford Center on Longevity, where his focus was on age-related changes in cognition.
Medical Product Development:
Walter has designed and developed numerous clinical systems over the last thirty-five years, including products in the fields of: surgical simulation, 3D medical visualization, telerehabilitation, clinical informatics, clinical decision support, point-of-care clinical data collection, ergonomic evaluation technology, automatic sleep-staging systems, psychophysiological assessment, and simulation-assisted rehabilitation technologies, as well as digital eHealth products for behavioral medicine.
Academic Leadership:
Walter is the Co-founder and Board Chair for the International Virtual Reality Health Association (IVRHA).
He helped establish the California State University Center for Disability Solutions and the International Society of Virtual Rehabilitation (ISVR). Walter is a scientific advisor and grant reviewer for the U.S. Public Health Service, National Science Foundation (NSF), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI), NASA, and the U.S. Department of Education (DoED). He has served as the Principal Investigator for research projects funded by the NIH and by NASA.
Corporate Management:
Walter founded and served as CEO for Greenleaf Medical Systems, a medical product development company; InWorld Solutions, a company specializing in the therapeutic use of virtual worlds for behavioral health care; and Virtually Better, a company that develops virtual environments for the treatment of phobias, anxiety disorders, and PTSD. Walter was the founding Chief Science Officer for Pear Therapeutics.
Academic Journals:
Walter is an Associate Editor for three academic journals: JMIR Mental Health, the Journal of Virtual Reality in Medicine, and Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking.
Current Board Positions:
Walter serves on the Board of Directors for Brainstorm: The Stanford Laboratory for Brain Health Innovation and Entrepreneurship; for Cognitive Leap, a company that develops mental health solutions for children; and for Sine Wave, the developer of Sine Space, a multi-user online Unity 3D-based virtual world platform. He is currently the technology and neuroscience advisor to several early-stage medical product companies.
Walter earned a Doctorate in Neuro and Bio-Behavioral Sciences from the Stanford University School of Medicine, where he was awarded a NIMH Graduate Fellowship.
IVRHA
Executive Director
IVRHA (International Virtual Reality and Healthcare Association)
Professor
Champlain College
Professor
West Virginia University
Founder
VRVoice, The Social Media Monthly and The Startup Monthly Websites/Magazines
Council Member
AWE (Augmented World Expo) Advisory Council
Founder
Share The Cheer
In 2009, Robert started Cool Blue Media by organizing the first social media conference on the east coast of the United States, leading to the publication of the text book, "The Big Book of Social Media Case Studies, Stories and Perspectives" and shortly thereafter the only printed magazine covering social media, The Social Media Monthly. In May 2016, he launched VRVoice.co, a content vertical exploring virtual reality in the enterprise. In 2017, Robert started the largest annual conference on virtual reality and healthcare with events taking place both in the US and Europe.
Prior to 2009, Robert was the Senior Director of Global Strategy and Development of IT at Conservation International (CI). Robert joined CI in 2000 to take responsibility for connecting all of CI’s forty field offices to the Internet with broadband connectivity. During his 10 year tenure, he built an international staff of 25 IT professionals.
Robert has over ten years of additional work experience as a systems and sales engineer with various companies including CMGI, Hughes Network Systems, ioWave and Raytheon. Robert has a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Villanova University, a master’s degree in environmental science and public policy from Johns Hopkins University, and is ABD at George Mason University.
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