Digital Health

Based in the Human-Computer Interaction group, I collaborate with health researchers to design and evaluate interventions for a range of health contexts in particular mental health, chronic illness and addiction.

This includes collaborations with Latrobe University, Swinburne University, Australian Catholic University, Orygen, the National Centre of Excellence in Youth Mental Health, Royal Children's Hospital, Royal Melbourne Hospital, Western Health, Northern Health, Victorian Cancer Council, and Perinatal Anxiety & Depression Australia.

Emotion and its Regulation

I study how people use technologies, both digital and pharmacological, to manage emotion in everyday life.

This includes collaborations with Stanford University, University College London, and the Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences.

Human-Computer Interaction

I use user-centred design and evaluation techniques to support projects ranging from Indigenous-led technology to climate change mitigation.

This includes collaborations with University of Technology Sydney, Curtin University, and the Melbourne School of Geography, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences.

Virtual Worlds

My PhD examined how people use avatars to communicate and collaborate in virtual space.

Two studies were conducted under the supervision of Nic Ducheneaut at Xerox PARC, California.

Current projects

• Kwasnicka et al. ConnectUp: Citizen Science informed online platform to increase social connection, physical health, and mental wellbeing in people with disability and their carers. $999k
• Prpic et al. Revival and cultural renewal of Gunditjmara seasonal knowledge . Indigenous Knowledge Institute. $20k
• Mistica et al. Mitigating the Crumple Zone: Developing Ethical AI to Support Mental Health Discussion Forums
• Thomas et al. Avatar-mediated therapy for hallucinations: superiority trial (AMETHYST) NHMRC Clinical Trials. $1.7M
• Thompson et al. Orygen Virtual World Project: bringing to life a new age of digitally enhanced youth mental health services. NHMRC Ideas. $396k
• Oldenburg et al. Interactive Digital Technology to Transform Australia's Chronic Disease Outcomes. NHMRC Centre for Research Excellence. $2.5M
• Eades et al. Bringing family, community, culture and country to indigenous youth mental health care. MRFF Million Minds Project. $5M.

Completed projects

• Krause et al. Communities over the airwaves. Creativity and Wellbeing Hallmark Research Initiative. $13k.
• Kostakos et al. Conceptualising and Measuring 'Digital Emotion Regulation'. ARC Discovery Project. $410k.
• Lawrence, Bird, Wadley, Graham, Bidwell, Eades, Dourish #thismymob: Establishing Digital Land Rights and Reconnecting Indigenous Communities through Emerging Technologies. ARC Discovery Indigenous 2017-19. $473k.
• Edmonds et al. Keeping the stories alive: bringing the Living Archive of Aboriginal Art out of 'lockdown'. Arts Collaborative Research Seed Funding. $20k
• Clarke et al. Living Archive of Aboriginal Art Melbourne Networked Society Institute. $49k.
• Tarzia, Hegarty, Fiolet, Arabena, Wadley, Barnwell Engaging with community for the co-design of a technological resource for Aboriginal and Torres strait Islander people experiencing family violence . Melbourne Social Equity Institute. $50k.
• Joubert et al. Remote but Connected: a co-created digital platform to enable caregivers to support independent living for people with disability in the face of Covid-19. Melbourne Disability Institute. $30k
• Western e-HEaLth patient information portal for Pregnancy (WeHELP), with Western Health and the Melbourne Medical School
• Forster, McLachlan, Shafiei, Wadley, Biggs, Couch, Wyett, Smith A moderated online peer support app to prevent perinatal depression and anxiety in ‘at risk’ expectant and new mothers: a pilot randomised controlled trial. Latrobe University 'Building Healthy Communities' Fund. $28k.
• Wadley, Alvarez-Jimenez, Bendall, Loveridge, Lederman, Gleeson Virtual reality therapy for youth mental health. Melbourne Networked Society Institute 2017. $28k.
• Clinch, Goncalves, Kostakos, Koval, Wadley Understanding how personal technologies are used to regulate emotion . University of Melbourne–University of Manchester Research Fund. $10k.
• Forster, McLachlan, Shafiei, Smith, Richardson, Wadley, Biggs, Stelfox IVY: InVestigating an online community of support for emotional health in pregnancy. Beischer Foundation 2017. $102k.
• Davidson, Wade, Wadley, Reavley, Fletcher, Gunn, Cameron Driving to Health: A mental health app for taxi drivers. Shepherd Foundation 2017. $78k.
• Davidson, Wadley, Reavley, Russon, Gunn Driving for Change: A video game to reduce depression in taxi drivers. Melbourne Networked Society Institute, 2015, $60k.
• Gibney, McVernon, Tong, Dhurrkay, Dockery, Taylor, Geard, Campbell, Bird, Wadley, Tomko, Singh, Warr Digital solutions for capturing connectedness and mobility data in remote Indigenous communities. Hallmark Indigenous Research Initiative Seed Funding 2017. $50k.
• Bumpus, Green, Wadley Communicating Climate Effectiveness: improving local development and climate change project effectiveness using mobile phones in the Nadi Basin, Fiji. Melbourne Sustainability Society Institute, 2013, $16k
• Rice, Alvarez-Jimenez, Gleeson, Davey, Hetrick, Parker, Bendall, Wadley, Lederman, McGorry . Preventing relapse of major depressive disorder in young people (15 – 25yrs): Development and piloting of a moderated online social therapy intervention. HCF Health and Medical Research Foundation. 2012, $200k
• Álvarez‐Jiménez, Gleeson, Lederman, Wadley, Bendall, McGorry, Yung, Killackey, The HORYZONS project: Online Recovery for Youth Onset Psychosis, Melbourne University Interdisciplinary Seed Funding, 2011, $45k
• Álvarez‐Jiménez, Gleeson, Lederman, Wadley, Bendall, McGorry, Yung, Killackey, Online Recovery for Youth Onset Psychosis, Telstra Foundation, 2011, $75k
• Álvarez‐Jiménez, Gleeson, Lederman, Wadley, Bendall, Killackey, Yung, McGorry, HORYZONS: Online Recovery for Youth Onset Psychosis, Telstra Foundation, 2011, $150k
• Lederman, Gleeson, Álvarez‐Jiménez, Killackey, Wadley, Broadband for First Episode Psychosis Patients, Institute for a Broadband Enabled Society, 2010, $12k
• Wadley, Gibbs, Benda, Voice communication in massively‐multiplayer online games, Microsoft Research Asia, 2005, $15k
• I worked on this early web-based teaching system to study the UX of web-based learning

Current

• Xanthe Lowe-Brown's PhD on music emotion regulation, with Solange Glasser and Pete Koval
• Samangi Wadinambi Arachchi's PhD on AI in design work, with Jenny Waycott
• Daniel Peyton's PhD on behavioural interventions for children and parents, with Harriet Hiscock and Naomi Hackworth (on leave)
• (starting in 2025) Auzi Asfarian's PhD on nature engagement in ecotourism, with Sarah Webber

Complete

PhD

• Martin Dutch's PhD on risk calculation in organ donation, with Jonathon Knott
• Elahi Hossain's PhD on social media and student wellbeing, with Anna Cox and Nadia Berthouze
• Kangning Yang's PhD on affective computing, with Jorge Goncalves and Tilman Dingler
• Shaira Baptista's PhD on diabetes management technologies, with Jane Speight and Brian Oldenburg
• Marianne Webb's PhD on mental health screening apps for general practice, with Lena Sanci
• Arthur Stabolidis's PhD on apps for managing chronic pain, with Christina Bryant and Lisa Phillips

Masters

• Stephen Iskandar, Shengxue Hua, Zihan YU, Henan YU, Zelun Zhang, Adrian Yi Kiat Teo's projects on building Spotify apps
• Lavish Lalwani, Zeyu Cheng, Jiuyu Zhu, Xuewei LI, Weitao Huang's projects on music streaming platforms and emotion regulation
• Changda Want and Chikako Fukioka's projects on designing AI for personalized learning in nature, with Sarah Webber
• Haoyue Wang, Tunyarat Simabawonsut, Ying Sima's projects on digital technologies for engaging with nature, with Sarah Webber
• Houyuwen Lu's Masters project on digital experiences with nature, with Sarah Webber
• Akshay Gohil's Masters project on digital emotion regulation, with Ben Tag
• Ashley Quan, Haruki Miyamoto, Zhenyuan Liu, and Yirong Zhang's 2021 Masters projects on digital emotion regulation
• Masters project on assessing the UX of virtual reality by Gonzalo Garcia Martinez
• Masters project on virtual reality intervention for mental health by Tamar Wong
• Masters projects on digital emotion regulation by Zixuan He, Yidi Liu, Jialiang Zhu
• Masters projects on digital emotion regulation by Yaoxi Shi, Jiahui Liang, Zihe Wang
• TangShuang Qin's Masters project on voice UIs for the elderly, with Jenny Waycott
• Gilbert Massoud's Masters project on virtual reality, with Aaron Harwood
• Yu Geng's Masters project on detecting emotion using phones, with Jorge Gonvalves
• Dave Eccles' Masters project on outsourcing, with Sean Maynard
• Yunhan Li's Masters project on VR-supported music therapy, with Ken Clarke and Ben Loveridge
• Jaime Castillo's Masters project on immersive environments for music therapy, with Ken Clarke, Ben Loveridge and Jeanette Tamplin
• Taniya Roy's Masters project on therapeutic game design, with Reeva Lederman
• Xu Sun's Masters project on machine learning classification of eHealth usage data, with Karin Verspoor
• Abbas Heidari's Masters project on social engagement for children in hospital, with Frank Vetere
• Kevin Hew's Honours project on gamer reactions to voice, with Martin Gibbs
• CJ Ruggles' Honours project on community-building techniques, with Martin Gibbs
• Stephanie Ng's Honours project on an IT-supported community of practice, with Martin Gibbs

Presentations

• seminar on Why am I online? An emotion regulation perspective on technology use and over-use at QUT Digital Wellbeing Lab
• seminar on designing tele-therapy for youth mental health
• spoke about teaching methods at Scholarship of Technology Enhanced Learning (SoTEL) showcase
• panelist in Technology and Digital Design for Reconnecting with Nature for Melbourne Design Week 2022
• seminar on phone-based support for perinatal mental health
• panellist in Can You Feel It? Music and Mood at Melbourne Music Week 2019
• panel on Dark Patterns and Addiction at OzCHI 2019, with Jeni Paay, Yvonne Rogers, Patrick Olivier, Jesper Kjeldskov, Caitlin Bathgate.
• presentation on user-centred design of health interventions at Northern Health Research Week, 8th October 2019
• seminar on Prototyping on Country at University of Melbourne, 2019
• seminar on Digital Emotion Regulation at University of Melbourne, 2018
• seminar on #ThisMyMob project at University of Melbourne, 2018
• presented at the Austin Hospital's 3D Med Symposium 2017
• presented This is your Brain on Virtual Reality during Science Week 2017
• presented at Monash University sensilab forum, April 2017
• presented on The Virtual And Reality – Perception, Participation, Potential, at Experimenta Social, April 2017
• presented at Can Digital Technology Really Improve the Health and Wellbeing of the Population?, April 2017
• presented at Virtual Reality in Neuro-Rehabilitation: What Does The Future Look Like? at the Melbourne Brain Centre, April 2017