The Pathogen Response Project & VR Avatar Project

Research Assistant | Producer

Producer for the Pathogen Response Project

For one year during my time at SMU Guildhall, I worked on a small team with a game designer, two programmers, and an artist to create a pathogen simulation game that is tied to an actual simulation engine for an outside organization.

On this project, I learned a lot about around-the-world collaboration, working with other companies, and managing multiple projects at the same time.

Pathogen High Concept.pdf

My responsibilities were...

  • Planning sprints and milestone requirements

  • Updating stakeholders on changes

  • Facilitating communication between teammates

  • Creating presentations, like shown here, to present to our outside collaborators

  • Creating Gantt charts to show outside collaborators' project plans and progress

  • Attending weekly meetings to update collaborators

  • Managing and creating the product backlog and task board

  • Moderating the project bug board

A basic Gantt chart I created to help our collaborators understand our plan.

VR Avatar Project - Research Assistant

For 2 semesters while I attended SMU Guildhall I was a Graduate Research Assistant for doctoral research where I was part of the experiments conducted. I participated in VR improv exercises with volunteers where we went through exercises designed to test and build emotional intelligence, an element of my thesis research, and an important feature of teamwork.


My Responcibilities were...

  • Speaking with volunteers through VR during Emotional Intelligence exercises

  • Helping with data collection and relocation

  • Seeking volunteers through email and Slack channels

  • Printing paperwork and moderating Qualtrics surveys

  • Managing bug boards

  • Recording the process, tips & tricks on Confluence

  • Preparing the room after each participant

  • Creating posters, as seen here!

My VR Avatar

Here is an example of what a volunteer would see on their end while participating in the experiment. This scene is where I spoke to the participants, and monitored for bugs and other challenges.