Rea Michalopoulou
Thesis title: Children, COVID-19, and Virtual Reality
PhD supervisors:
Address
- Street
-
Doorway 6
Old Medical Building
Teviot Place - City
- Edinburgh
- Post code
- EH8 9AG
Background
I started my academic journey at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTh) in Greece where in 2019 I completed a First-Class Honours Bachelor of Education (BEd Hons) in Early Childhood Education and Teaching. During my bachelor's studies, I immersed myself in the psychology world which then led me to move to Edinburgh. In 2020, I joined the School of Health in Social Science and completed the MSc in Psychology of Mental Health (Conversion) with distinction. For my master's dissertation, I explored young people's understanding of COVID-19. This project sparked my interest in illness perceptions and played a pivotal role in the design of my PhD project.
Qualifications
MSc (Distinction) in Psychology of Mental Health (Conversion), University of Edinburgh, UK
BEd (1st Class-Hons) in Early Childhood Education and Teaching, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece
Responsibilities & affiliations
2021 Member of the British Psychological Society (GMBPsS)
Undergraduate teaching
2023-24
Medical School
-
Social and Ethical Aspects of Medicine (SEAM): Unit 1: Understanding Experiences of Illness [SEM1]
-
Social and Ethical Aspects of Medicine (SEAM): Unit 3: Health in Communities [SEM2]
Postgraduate teaching
2023-24
School of Health in Social Science
-
Developmental Psychology and Developmental Psychopathology (CLPS11054) [SEM1]
- Typical and Atypical Child Development (CLPS11080) [SEM1]
- Attachment, Wellbeing and Mental Health (CLPS11079) [SEM2]
- Biological Psychology (CLPS11083) [SEM2]
2022-23
School of Health in Social Science
- Biological Psychology (CLPS11083) [SEM2]
- Parenting: Theory & Practice (CLPS11042) [SEM2]
-
Cognitive Psychology and Cognitive Disorders (CLPS11052) [SEM2]
Past PhD students supervised
Chuxiong Wu (School of Informatics)
Research summary
My research interests lie (1) in the way children understand infectious diseases, (2) in children's familiarity with VR technologies; and 3) in creating age-appropriate VR applications.
Current research interests
illness perceptions; mental health; virtual reality; children; adolescents; clinical psychology; developmental psychology; health psychologyAffiliated research centres
Current project grants
The Onassis Foundation Scholarship-Awarded for the duration of my PhD
Conference details
Michalopoulou, R. E., Williams, J. M., Bach, B., Kourtesis, P. (2023). Children, COVID-19 & Virtual Reality. HiSS PGR Conference 2023: Integrative approaches to Healthcare. -Poster Presentation of PhD's research plan
Hoelterhoff, M., Johnston, S., Ajeet Gokani, H., Michalopoulou, R. E., Leyland, E. L. (2022). Personal Values in Postgraduate University Student Engagement: A Creative Participatory Action Research Project. 2022 Porto 31st International Conference On “Literature, Social Sciences and Education” (PLSSE-22). - Oral Presentation - Awarded "Best Session Paper"
Michalopoulou, R. E., Williams, J. M., Ding, R. (2021). Young People's Understanding of COVID-19. BPS Scottish Branch 2021 Postgraduate Research Day. - Oral Presentation of master’s dissertation