Hello!

I am a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Human-Computer Interaction at University College Dublin in the area of digital mental health. My current research focuses on the design of technologies to support mental health assessment and intervention.

I am the Action Chair of the EU COST Action Digital Mental Health for Young People (YouthDMH). The YouthDMH COST Action aims to establish a pan-European network to advance research on using technology to support youth mental health over the next 4 years. It will consider the ways in which technology can support mental health from the point at which young people first become aware of their difficulties, through to the delivery of large-scale evidence-based interventions. It will do so in a way that ensures young people and marginalised communities have a voice in envisaging the future.

I am a member of the HCI@UCD research group. HCI@UCD is an interdisciplinary research group bringing together computer scientists, designers, social and cognitive scientists.  I hold a Ph.D. in Human-Computer Interaction from Trinity College Dublin and I am a former member of the research group Health Technology Design.

I hold a BSc in Informatics and Computer Technology from the Technological Institution of Western Macedonia in Greece, and an MSc in Human-Computer Interaction and Social Media from Umeå University in Sweden. My prior work experience includes roles as both a front-end developer and a User Experience Designer.

I believe that design should always be close to the final user since user needs are changing constantly. I am interested in understanding people’s needs and engagement with technologies and how to design for that purpose.

Contact: andreas.balaskas@ucd.ie