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Veronica Weser, at the start of her PhD program, her advisor received a grant from Google to study user experience in the newly-commercialized field of virtual reality (VR), launching her interest in the use of game technology for serious research purposes. Dr. Weser completed her PhD in Cognitive Psychology from the University of Virginia in 2018 having designed, programed, and ran hundreds of VR user experience studies.

Dr. Weser is currently an associate research scientist in the Yale School of Medicine and a member of the play4REAL XR Lab. In this position, Dr. Weser develops and evaluates theory and evidence-informed videogame interventions using mixed reality (XR) game technology. The first game Dr. Weser helped to develop, Invite Only VR: A Vaping Prevention Game, has won multiple awards. Dr. Weser oversaw data collection procedures for a study that followed 285 teens for 6 months to see if playing Invite Only VR changed the initiation of e-cigarette use.

As the project director of the NICHD-funded grant, Dr. Weser is currently responsible for the development of a multiplayer videogame HIV prevention intervention that will be evaluated in a pilot randomized controlled trial with 80 young Black girls aged 14-18.”