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 Proposer of the EU COST Action Digital Mental Health for Young People (YouthDMH), alongside David Coyle. 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 am also a member of the AI Healthcare Hub at the UCD Institute for Discovery. The UCD AI Healthcare Hub aims to bring together expert interdisciplinary researchers, clinicians and industry partners to address the most pressing healthcare challenges.

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