Veronica Newhart wins two-year NIH-funded postdoctoral fellowship

Veronica Newhart, Ph.D. ’18, was awarded a two-year postdoctoral fellowship in the National Institutes of Health-funded UCI Institute of Clinical & Translational Science TL-1 Training Program. She will examine how interactions via telepresence and human service robots allow home- and hospital-bound populations to maintain social connectedness and engage in technology-mediated experiences that contribute to improved health outcomes. She will be conducting her research with Jacquelynne Eccles, UCI School of Education director for graduate studies and distinguished professor of education, and Jeff Kirchmar, cognitive sciences professor. “Every year, large numbers of K-12 chronically ill students are unable to go to class and as a result, fall behind in instruction, feel isolated from their peers and experience difficulties in recovery due to loneliness and depression,” Newhart said. “Telepresence robots provide a possible means for addressing this situation. Preliminary case study results from the use of these robots in public school systems indicate that virtual inclusion may provide significant social, educational and medical benefits.”