U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
Acting Deputy Under Secretary for Health for Discovery, Education and Affiliate Networks
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
Susan R. Kirsh, MD, MPH is currently serving as the Deputy Assistant Under Secretary for Health for Discovery, Education and Affiliate Networks (DEAN).
Dr. Kirsh served in numerous roles during her 24-year career with the Veterans Health Administration. She practiced as an internist for many years at the Cleveland VAMC and has led initiatives in VA Central Office in the Primary Care Program Office with Patient Centered Medical Home and Shared Medical Appointments and in Specialty Care nationally implementing eConsults, SCAN-ECHO, Specialty Care Neighborhoods, and MiniResidencies. Since March 2015, Dr. Kirsh led access to care efforts such as implementation of the practice management program for outpatient care across VA, same day services, and direct scheduling for specialty care. In 2018, Dr. Kirsh became the Acting Executive Director for Access and led enterprise-wide efforts to improve access to care through telehealth and Clinical Contact Centers Modernization.
Dr. Kirsh received her Doctor of Medicine degree from the Medical College of Ohio in Toledo, Ohio. She completed her residency in Internal Medicine at the University of Cincinnati in Cincinnati, Ohio and Northwestern Medical Center in Chicago, Illinois.
Dr. Kirsh is certified with the American Board of Internal Medicine and received a Master of Public Health from Case Western University in Cleveland, Ohio. She is a member of the American College of Healthcare Executives, Society of General Internal Medicine, Medical Group Management Association, and the American College of Physicians. Dr. Kirsh was a Faculty Scholar in the VA Quality Scholar Program in 2008 and holds a Professor of Medicine appointment at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio and an Assistant Professor position at the Georgetown University School of Nursing.
China President
Global VP of Corporate Development
HTC
Mr. Graylin （汪丛青） is the China President at HTC leading all aspects of HTC's business in the region (Vive/VR, phone, Viveport content platform, partnerships and investments) and the company’s XR Suite Business globally. He is also responsible for fostering strategic partnerships on a global basis at HTC. Additionally Graylin is currently Vice-Chairman of the Industry of Virtual Reality Alliance (IVRA.com) with 300+ company members, President of the $18B Virtual Reality Venture Capital Alliance (VRVCA.com) and oversees the Vive X VR Accelerators (VIVEX.co) in Beijing, Shenzhen and Tel Aviv. Mr. Graylin is a sought after speaker and thought leader in the areas of VR/AR, AI, Entrepreneurship, and doing business in China by events and media globally.
Mr. Graylin has over 29 years of business management experience in the tech industry, including 20 years in Greater China. Prior to HTC, he was a serial entrepreneur, having founded four venture-backed startups in the mobile and internet spaces, covering mobile social, adtech, search, AI, big data and digital media. Additionally, he has held $100+ million P&L roles at a number of public companies.
Mr. Graylin was born in China and educated in the US. He received his MS in computer science from MIT, MBA from MIT’s Sloan School of Management and BS in electrical engineering from the University of Washington, where he did research in VR and AI over two decades ago. Mr. Graylin is fluent in English, Mandarin and Cantonese.
Chief Customer Success Officer
EY
Edwina is Client Technology’s Chief Customer Success Officer. In this role, Edwina leads Product Management and Customer Success at EY which develops cutting edge technology products and platforms to support EY’s $45BN client services in audit, tax, strategy, transactions, and consulting. In addition to leading product teams with 6500 technologists and engineers, Edwina heads up 10 Customer Success Regional Technology Hubs across the US, EMEIA, China and Japan focused on delivering successful outcomes and experiences from technology for EY’s clients globally.
Edwina is leading the metaverse community for Client Technology, working across EY globally, joining the dots and making connections across this new paradigm for 3Dworlds, avatars, NFTs, DeFi, Web3.0, DAOs, gaming, headsets, ethics, sustainability, legal, tax, regulatory, cybersecurity and more.
Over the course of her career, Edwina has been a CIO, COO and CEO in financial services businesses and holds board positions on industry innovation organizations. She was formerly the GCSP for Xerox, a G360 account and the Global Consulting Markets and Business Development Leader.
Paramount Global
Futurist
Paramount Pictures
Ted works across leadership and the technology teams across Paramount Global, including CBS, CBS Sports, Paramount Pictures, Paramount Plus, MTV, Nickelodeon, BET, PlutoTV and Comedy Central, exploring emerging tech for entertainment with an emphasis on Virtual and Mixed Reality and Web 3.0 and Themed Entertainment pursuits.
Prior to joining Paramount, Ted was the Futurist at 20th Century Fox, where he worked on the evolving art and science of advanced interactive visual storytelling. He was part of the creation team for the Martian VR and Wild VR experiences, which premiered at CES and Sundance.
Ted help lead creation teams for the Alien, Planet of the Apes and Predator VR experiences at Fox, and at his current home at Paramount , he’s been instrumental in bringing the Grease MR experience, the SpongeBob MR experience, the Light as a Feather MR experience and the Quiet Place VR experience to life.
Ted was an integral part of the product development team at Red Digital Cinema as the company’s first employee. The Red One and Epic cameras have made significant impact on the Motion Picture Industry, winning a Sci-Tech Academy and technical Emmy award. Many of the world’s biggest movies are shot with these ultra high resolution digital movie cameras.
Ted is one of the founders of the G-Tech product line of advanced hard drive storage products. As the most recognized brand in that industry, they are implemented worldwide at the highest levels on cinema and television productions.
Before being part of the founding teams at Red Digital Cinema and G-Tech, Ted was on the team that developed and launched the Macintosh desktop video division of AJA Video in tandem with Apple. These products are used on a massive scale worldwide for video production on many of the world’s biggest movies, TV series and sporting events.
Ted has presented worldwide at numerous conferences for the movie, TV and interactive entertainment industries.
He’s been featured in Wired, Variety, NY Times, LA Times, Wall Street Journal, Fast Company, The Hollywood Reporter, NBC, CNET, Film and Video, DV Magazine, TV Technology, HD Video Pro, Engadget, Gizmodo, Millimeter, American Cinematographer, MacWorld, Post Magazine, Popular Science, and countless other publications.
In 2019, Ted was honored at the Variety Hall of Fame with the Variety Innovation Award.
DeepWell DTx
Co-Founder
DeepWell DTx
NeuFluent
Founder
Nextern
Ryan is a renowned expert and innovator in mental health, artificial intelligence, and surgical robotics with nearly 20 years of experience. Ryan is the co-founder of DeepWell DTx, a video game publisher and developer focused on creating medically therapeutic games with compelling gameplay. He has commercialized over 20 medical devices, including treatments for depression, hypertension, breast cancer survivors, women's health, chronic pain, and neurological conditions. Additionally, Ryan holds pivotal patents in medical AI and robotics and has achieved FDA clearance for breakthrough therapies.
University of California, Berkeley
Haripriya Sathyanarayanan
Ph.D. Candidate
Building Science & Sustainability
University of California, Berkeley
Haripriya Sathyanarayanan is a Ph.D. Candidate in Architecture (Building Science & Sustainability)with a Designated Emphasis in New Media at the University of California, Berkeley. With a background in architecture, sustainable design consultancy and teaching, her research focuses on evidence-based design (EBD) and enhancing the patient experience in pediatric patient rooms. Haripriya employs an interdisciplinary approach, utilizing collaborative design processes, immersive technology, and biofeedback for patient engagement in design. As a PhD Intern at the Pacific Northwest National Lab (PNNL), she further enriches her expertise in the field of Building Simulation & Design and is involved in projects addressing DEI in residential energy codes.
With a Master of Science (Building Science) and a Bachelor of Architecture, Haripriya has received prestigious awards for her exceptional research efforts and alo serves as a Professional Development Liaison and mentor, actively supporting her fellow students. Haripriya's accomplishments include receiving the Regents Fellowship from UC Berkeley, prestigious awards for her ongoing dissertation and certifications such as EDAC, LEED AP (BD+C), and WELL AP, demonstrating her commitment to sustainable and human-centered design approaches.
ResInnova Laboratories
President and CEO
ResInnova Laboratories
Dr. Hardwick is a thought leader in the field of infection prevention in the healthcare environment of care and is an expert in antimicrobial surface technologies. He has 20 years of academic research experience at Georgetown University where he completed his PhD in Cell Biology, and at Johns Hopkins University, where he completed 2 postdoctoral fellowships, one in the Bloomberg School of Public Health and the second in the James Buchanan Brady Urological Institute.
Dr. Hardwick is widely published and very active in numerous standards organizations including AATCC, ASHRAE, and ASTM International. He contributed significantly to two, soon-to-be published germicidal UV (GUV) standards from ANSI/HSI and ASHRAE.
Charley Bear Productions
Angela Cohen is a multi-talented writer, director, and actress who serves up an enigmatic blend of humor, heart, and intrigue. She’s gained valuable experience shadowing industry veterans such as David Gordon Green on NBC's comedy "There's Johnny" and Jason Ensler on Disney Plus's dramedy "Love, Victor." Angela has been hired to direct a diverse range of projects, including branded content, documentaries, and narrative shorts. She was hand selected by Google to direct a mind bending VR piece that will leave you questioning reality. Notably, Angela is the producing director of GlowMedia films, a non-profit dedicated to boosting teen mental health literacy. She recently directed a digital limited series in collaboration with the Lyme Disease Association that will have you laughing, crying, and everything in between.
Angela’s witty comedy "Drive Thru Confessionals" premiered on Elizabeth Banks' WHOHAHA and her
touching short documentary "Unimaginable" premiered at the Oscar Qualifying St. Louis International Film Festival, leaving audiences captivated and inspired. Her haunting short narrative, "There Can Be Light," will have its world premiere at the Oscar qualifying Hollyshorts Film Festival, US Premiere at the renowned Breckenridge Film Festival, and was executive produced by Marci Wiseman, former president
of Blumhouse Television. As a writer and producer, Angela's films have screened at the Sundance Film
Festival, qualified for the Oscars, and her work as an actress includes legends Al Pacino and Ann Dowd.
Angela founded Charley Bear Productions, driven by a vision to create a shift in perspective, igniting social change through female-fronted stories. With a degree from Emory University in Neuroscience and Behavioral Biology, she is fascinated with the brain and the overlap of art and science. The synergy of this will be actualized in her narrative virtual reality CPR training experience, “The Art of Saving a Life”, which advanced to the final round of the Sundance New Frontier Labs. When she's not busy making movies, Angela can be found bustin’ a move with her canine crew.
Mass General Brigham
Associate Chief Medical Information - Digital Innovation
Medical Director - Digital Innovation Hub
Associate Program Director - Clinical Informatics and Innovation Fellowship
Medical Director - Digital Health Implementation
Brigham and Women's Hospital
Palliative Care Consultant
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Co-Founder
Cake
Physician
Care Dimensions (formerly Hospice of the North Shore & Greater Boston)
Instructor of Medicine
Harvard Medical School
Haipeng (Mark) Zhang D.O. is the Medical Director of the Brigham Digital Innovation Hub, as well as of Digital Health Implementation at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Zhang also holds the position of Associate Program Director of the Clinical Informatics and Innovation Fellowship at Partners Healthcare and a Palliative Care consultant at Dana Farber Cancer Institute.
Zhang completed an Internal Medicine residency and a chief year at Allegheny General Hospital. He is a graduate of the Harvard Interprofessional Palliative Care Fellowship, the first graduate of the Clinical Informatics and Innovation fellowship at Partners Healthcare, and completed a Masters Medical Science in Biomedical Informatics at Harvard Medical School.
Throughout his career, Mark has held an interest in leveraging technology to improve clinical medicine. He is the founder and co-creator of Palliative Care Fast Facts for iOS and Android mobile applications. This application is one of the most widely used mobile reference applications in palliative care in the world. He is the co-founder of Cake, a venture backed company focused on advance care planning.
He also founded and was the first president of AMIA Clinical Informatics Fellows (ACIF), the national organization for clinical informatics fellows.
Healium
CEO
Healium
Sarah 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. She has 5 patents for biometrically-powered media, her company's mental fitness products are clinically validated in 5 peer-reviewed journals, and her immersive experiences have been viewed more than 7 million times. Hill is a former interactive TV news journalist for the NBC, ABC, & CBS affiliates in Columbia, Missouri. A national Edward R. Murrow, NAB Service to America, National Sigma Delta Chi, and award-winning TV reporter, she spent decades covering the world’s trauma in Sri Lanka, Zambia, Guatemala, Indonesia, and Congo. Healium's roots are in virtual travel for Veterans. In 2015, Hill’s team built a program called “Honor Everywhere”, which uses virtual reality and augmented reality to allow aging Veterans the opportunity to virtually visit their WWII, Vietnam, Korea, & Women’s Memorials. Hill is married with two grown children, three if you count her husband. She likes to run, do hot yoga, and visit the world's historical sites.
Boston Children's Hospital
Simulation Engineering Project Manager
Boston Children's Hospital
Jeffrey Jacobson, Ph.D., brings 30 years of experience in research, engineering, and applications of VR, AR, and XR technology. As the XR Lead at Immersive Design Systems at Boston Children’s Hospital, he develops new training solutions and is building our new XR service line. With a doctorate in Information Science from the University of Pittsburgh, Jeff is a cognitive engineer, expert on how people process information. He was one of the first researchers to use game technology for VR, conduct empirical studies of learning in VR, and use AR in museums and educational theater. He consulted for years in museums, architecture, transportation, and health care. His writings are cited over 1500 times in the scientific literature.
Veterans Health Administration
Director, Clinical Tech Innovation
Clinical Pharmacy Specialist
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
Group Fitness Instructor
Gold's Gym
Dr. Anne Lord Bailey is Director for Clinical Tech Innovation for VHA Innovation Ecosystem and Immersive Technology Lead for VHA’s Office of Healthcare Innovation and Learning (OHIL). Dr. Bailey started her healthcare journey as a pharmacy resident and then pharmacy practitioner for Western North Carolina VA Healthcare System in Asheville, NC. In 2020, she joined the VHAIE team to lead implementation of emerging technology and in 2021 became OHIL’s lead for Immersive Technology, establishing VA Immersive as a collaborative program across the office. She has worked with experts and thought leaders in government, academia, and industry, while co-leading the expansion of the VHA XR Network from the founding five facilities to over 160, engaging more than 1,350 VA employees. Recently, Dr. Bailey was awarded 2022 G2Xchange Change Agent Award and, along with other OHIL Immersive Tech team members, the 2022 Service to the Citizen Award. In October 2022, she received the International Virtual Reality in Healthcare Association’s 2022 Hero Award for dedication to the growth of immersive technology in healthcare.
The glowmedia project
Founder and Executive Director
The glowmedia project
Trish Glowacki is a filmmaker, writer and songwriter. Trish has written many short stories and is working on a novel. Her first musical, WARNING: Take Only As Directed, was adapted to the screen. The award-winning film has proven to be an innovative and effective tool for teaching teens, their educators, parents, and guardians about the dangers of prescription medicine misuse.
In touring WARNING, the most common question posed by educators was “What else do you have?” Trish founded Glowmedia in 2016, from the realization that the need for systems change was largely under-prioritized, ignored, and overlooked. Youth and teens have become wise to traditional instructional methods related to mental health education, and today’s teens face issues far beyond the extant curricula for addressing smoking or built on simplistic slogans such as “Just say no.” Curriculum covering issues of mental health and substance misuse have not progressed from black-and-white handouts and content created decades ago; its ability to serve today’s youth has completely waned. Glowmedia is committed to pioneering a new approach to reach teens through compelling films that address issues identified by youth, with stories from youth, and storytelling by youth. Combined with pre- and post-viewing materials, Glowmedia’s films and their presentation strategy are designed to break the former curricular model, provide solid content, and, most importantly, open doors so youth can safely and freely discuss issues of mental health that would otherwise go ignored. By demonstrating the power of this new model, founded on a “do with, not to” philosophy, Glowmedia strives to shift how mental health and topics such as stress and anxiety, substance misuse, sexual identity, and relational issues are introduced and discussed with adolescents.
Glowmedia’s mission is to reduce stigma, remove misconceptions, and reinforce the reality that mental health affects everyone. With free videos and resources that teens WANT to see, Glowmedia helps teachers provide much-needed mental health education. All youth have access to the care they need to thrive, with no distinction between physical and mental health, regardless of race, sexual identity, socioeconomic status, or gender.
As an actor, choreographer and director over the years, Trish honed her skills at Adventure Theatre, a theatre for childrn in Glen Echo, MD. Her most notable acting roles include Little Red Riding Hood and Chicken Little. Trish has served on many different boards in the D.C. area and is involved with several volunteer organizations. Trish is a passionate mental health advocate. She graduated from Georgetown University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English.
Santa Clara University
Director of the Brain and Memory Care Lab
Santa Clara University
Dr. Julia A. Scott is director of the Brain and Memory Care Lab at Santa Clara University. The research program partners with external stakeholders--companies, clinicians, community organizations--to co-design healthcare innovation projects for numerous disciplines, from public health to engineering. The primary technologies engaged are in non-invasive brain sensing and stimulation in application to cognitive decline or impairment and neurobehavioral conditions. Successful integration of EEG derived signals into virtual reality (VR) experiences has seeded ongoing development of VR biofeedback applications that enhance the sense of presence and train self-regulatory skills.
Julia Scott, PhD received her training in neuroscience at University of California campuses (Davis, San Diego, and San Francisco). She has published widely on normal and abnormal neurodevelopment as well as brain aging in the characterization of longitudinal change models and neuroimaging markers. She has taught a range of courses in Biology and Bioengineering, including physiology, neural engineering and medical imaging.
Reach
Member Board of Directors
Preeclampsia Foundation
Member Board of Directors
AHIMA Foundation
Chief Executive Officer
RTL Innovation
President
REACH
With over 20 years of dedication, Fran Ayalasomayajula, executive healthcare strategist and technologist, serves the interests of populations around the world to improve the quality of healthcare, increase access to healthcare, and obtain higher rates of health literacy and patient engagement.
As the President of Reach Healthcare, Fran leads with vision strategies and innovations designed to advance and deliver improved clinical outcomes and better population health. Prior to Reach, Fran was the Head of Digital Health Strategy, Worldwide at HP and has worked for PAHO - WHO, CDC, BMS, and UHG among others.
Fran is the recipient of national awards for motivational and collaborative leadership including the National Campaign for Tolerance. She is a member of the Wall of Tolerance, the United Nations Association, and multiple global organizations on population health.
She is a renowned international public speaker and writer. The author of several publications on technology-enabled population health management solutions, including best practices for the successful adoption of virtual reality in the clinical setting. An acclaimed thought leader, Fran engages and inspires audiences through storytelling from the front lines of public health and "How To" presentations sharing approaches to applied innovation and technology-enabled methodologies.
National Institutes of Health
Head, Health Communication and Behavior Unit
Director, Immersive Simulation Program
National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI)
Associate Investigator and Director of Virtual Reality Lab
National Institutes of Health / National Human Genome Research Institute
Dr. Susan Persky is an associate investigator and unit head within the Social and Behavioral Research Branch, National Human Genome Research Institute, National Institutes of Health (NIH) where she directs the Immersive Simulation Program (ISP). She earned her Ph.D. in social psychology from the University of California, Santa Barbara where she studied at the Research Center for Virtual Environments and Behavior. In 2006 she founded the ISP, an immersive technology-based experimental research facility at the NIH Clinical Center. Dr. Persky splits her effort between providing leadership for the ISP and conducting programmatic research on clinical and public health translation of emerging genomics technologies. She has written and presented extensively on methodology, applications, and evaluation of immersive technology in healthcare and behavioral science contexts. Dr. Persky has presented this work in venues such as the Smithsonian Institution and at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine.
Nixon Gwilt Law
Partner
Nixon Gwilt Law
Kaitlyn O’Connor, Esq. is Senior Counsel at Nixon Gwilt Law. An energetic and relationship-focused healthcare innovation attorney, Kaitlyn provides practical and strategic legal advice with a focus on business implications and what is best for the client's business. She excels at creative problem-solving and balancing risk in "grey" areas for her clients.
Kaitlyn’s experience and areas of practice include digital health, telehealth, veterinary telemedicine (aka, TelePet), direct-to-consumer digital health business models, remote care management, virtual first delivery models, global privacy and security, teledentistry, fraud and abuse, and HIPAA privacy/security. She provides legal, regulatory, and business guidance to healthcare providers across the spectrum of care, as well as early-stage companies and vendors serving the healthcare industry. Kaitlyn specializes in remote patient monitoring (RPM) and leads NGL’s RPM practice alongside Managing Partner Carrie Nixon. Kaitlyn particularly enjoys working with innovative RPM vendors to implement practical business solutions and accelerate growth in this rapidly expanding industry.
After graduating magna cum laude from Syracuse University, Kaitlyn attended William & Mary Law School, where she served as a member of the Business Law Review. She is a member of the Connected Health Initiative (CHI), Co-chair of the Health & Life Sciences Affinity Group for the National Association of Women Lawyers ("NAWL"), member of the Reproductive Justice Working Group with the Law Firm Anti-racism Alliance ("LFAA"), member of the American Telemedicine Association, and serves as a Mentor for Jumpstart Foundry, an investment group focused on healthcare technology. Kaitlyn also provides mentorship for startups participating in the MassChallenge HealthTech, KidsX, and Leap Venture Studio accelerators.
Kaitlyn is based in Nixon Gwilt Law’s Richmond office and lives in Richmond with her dog Milly.
Cleanbox Technology
CEO, Co-Founder
Cleanbox Technology
Women's Committee Member
Healthcare Committee Member
Enterprise Committee Member
Safety & Security Committee Member
VR AR Association
Advisory Board Member
International Virtual Reality Healthcare Association
Advisory Board Member
AIXR HR Healthcare Advisory Panel
Co-Founder
Reality Dept
Amy Hedrick is the Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Cleanbox Technology. Her strategy for building a thriving business by solving a real-world problem, and her vision for creating a global impact brand with reach across multiple industries, has grown the company from an idea to a multi-million-dollar global business in two short years. Hedrick brought investment into Cleanbox, and her execution of the company’s vision has established Cleanbox as a brand trusted by its many Fortune 100 and Fortune 500 clients.
Hedrick is a thought leader in the applications of immersive technology as industry disruptors and brings innovation ideas and product functionality to Cleanbox’s smart tech hygiene product lines. She has led multiple teams from project inception and funding, to planning and execution, proving herself an effective leader in multiple industries over the past decade.
Immediately prior to funding and incorporating Cleanbox in 2018, Hedrick served as Manager of Content and Digital Media for the think tank division of Li and Fung, a leading global consumer goods sourcing and manufacturing company based in Hong Kong. Her expertise includes conducting bespoke research and C-level reports within technology, retail, and cross-genre applications. Hedrick was one of four writers for the Fung Business Intelligence Center (FBIC). It was this immersion that inspired the business idea that would eventually lead to Cleanbox.
Hedrick spent her early career working with international aid organizations, managing multiple teams of 50-150 healthcare, construction, and emergency intervention professionals, and overseeing direct-aid projects in addition to fundraising in both the profit and non-profit sectors. In addition, she worked in the film industry raising funds, managing budgets for content creation and production.
Hedrick currently serves on various VR and AR Association committees including; Women’s, Healthcare, Enterprise, Safety & Security as well as the Advisory Board for the International Virtual Reality Healthcare Association, and recently contributed to a book “VR and Healthcare”, a compilation of thought leaders in XR, published by Robert Fine.
Hedrick has been named Analytics Insight Magazine’s “The 10 Most Impactful Women in Technology 2020.”
Veterans Health Administration
Deputy Director, Clinical Tech Innovation
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
Registered Nurse
Veterans Health Administration
Caitlin Rawlins has been as a nurse for over 10 years, with the Department of Veterans Affairs since 2017, and initiated the first positive distraction-focused VR program for pain and anxiety management in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) in her first year of VA practice. She now aids in leading VHA Innovation as Deputy Director of Clinical Tech Innovation for VHA Innovation Ecosystem and co-lead of the VHA Extended Reality (XR) Network. She has helped support the expansion of XR technology use from just a few facilities to over 160 and network engagement to more than 1,350 VA employees. Ms. Rawlins has been awarded the 2019 ANCC Pathway Award, 2022 G2Xchange Disruptive Tech Program Award, and, along with other OHIL Immersive Tech team members, was a recipient of the 2022 Service to the Citizen Award for her work with XR. Most recently, in October 2022, she received the International Virtual Reality in Healthcare Association’s 2022 Hero Award for dedication to the growth of immersive technology in healthcare.
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.
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 School 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.
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.
As we prepare next year’s programmatic schedule, and you’re looking to get a sense of the types of sessions that will be presented, we suggest browsing this past year’s program, which you can find here.
NOTE: If you are having trouble finding a hotel, please reach out to us on the messenger in the corner.
NOTE: If you are having trouble finding a hotel, please reach out to us on the messenger in the corner.
NOTE: If you are having trouble finding a hotel, please reach out to us on the messenger in the corner.
