Rostam Jalali | VR Therapy and Mental Health | Best Researcher Award

Published on by VR Research Awards

Global VR Research Awards

Rostam Jalali
Affiliation Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences
Country Iran
Scopus ID 6701367657
Documents 105
Citations 5,025
h-index 22
Subject Area VR Therapy and Mental Health
Event Global VR Research Awards
ORCID 0000-0003-1781-9939

Rostam Jalali

Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Iran

The Global VR Research Awards recognize distinguished researchers whose scientific contributions have advanced virtual reality technologies and their interdisciplinary applications. Rostam Jalali has established a significant research profile in the field of virtual reality therapy and mental health through sustained scholarly productivity, impactful publications, and extensive citation performance. His work spans digital health interventions, psychological wellbeing, rehabilitation, and evidence-based healthcare research, reflecting an ongoing commitment to improving patient outcomes through innovative technologies.[1]

Abstract

Rostam Jalali’s academic portfolio demonstrates sustained contributions to virtual reality applications in healthcare, particularly within mental health, rehabilitation, and clinical intervention research. His publication record, citation performance, and collaborative research activities indicate broad scholarly influence across digital health disciplines. The Global VR Research Awards acknowledge researchers whose work advances scientific understanding while supporting practical healthcare innovation.[1][2]

Introduction

Virtual reality has become an increasingly valuable technology for clinical assessment, therapy, rehabilitation, education, and behavioral intervention. Researchers working within this interdisciplinary field contribute to improving patient care by integrating immersive digital environments into evidence-based healthcare practices. Rostam Jalali’s research aligns with these developments through investigations focused on therapeutic applications and mental health outcomes.[1]

Research Profile

According to publicly available scholarly indexing information, Rostam Jalali has authored more than one hundred indexed publications and accumulated over five thousand citations, resulting in an h-index of 22. His research demonstrates interdisciplinary collaboration involving healthcare sciences, psychology, rehabilitation, and virtual reality technologies.[1]

Publications

The researcher’s publication portfolio encompasses peer-reviewed journal articles addressing virtual reality interventions, mental health outcomes, rehabilitation science, healthcare technology, and clinical effectiveness. Many publications have contributed to evidence supporting immersive technologies within patient-centered healthcare.[1][2]

Research Impact

The combination of publication productivity, citation performance, and interdisciplinary collaboration indicates that Rostam Jalali’s work has contributed to ongoing scientific discussions regarding virtual reality-assisted healthcare. Citation metrics suggest that his research has been referenced by scholars investigating digital medicine, rehabilitation, and mental health technologies.[1]

Award Suitability

Based on documented scholarly metrics, publication history, and research specialization, Rostam Jalali demonstrates characteristics commonly associated with recognition in international academic award programs focused on virtual reality research. His sustained contributions to VR therapy and mental health represent an interdisciplinary body of work relevant to the objectives of the Global VR Research Awards.[1]

Conclusion

Rostam Jalali’s scholarly record reflects continued engagement in virtual reality research supporting healthcare innovation and mental health applications. His publication output, citation metrics, and interdisciplinary collaborations collectively illustrate a sustained academic contribution consistent with the values promoted by the Global VR Research Awards.[1]

References

  1. Elsevier. (2026). Scopus author details: Rostam Jalali, Author ID 6701367657. Scopus.
    https://www.scopus.com/authid/detail.uri?authorId=6701367657
  2. Consequences of Workplace Bullying From Nurses’ Perspectives: A Qualitative Descriptive Study in Iran
    https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2021.01.001
  3. Global VR Research Awards. (2026). Official Award Website.
    https://vrresearchaward.com/

Albert “Skip” Rizzo | VR Therapy & Mental Health | Lifetime Achievement in Virtual Reality Award

Published on by VR Research Awards

Prof. Albert “Skip” Rizzo | VR Therapy & Mental Health | Lifetime Achievement in Virtual Reality Award

USC-Institute for Creative Technologies | United States

Albert “Skip” Rizzo, Ph.D., is an internationally recognized clinical psychologist and neuropsychologist who founded one of the world’s first Clinical Virtual Reality laboratories at USC in 1995 and currently serves as Director of Medical VR at the USC Institute for Creative Technologies, where he has spent three decades designing, developing, and evaluating over 60 VR and Virtual Human systems for clinical diagnosis, treatment, and research across domains such as PTSD, anxiety, depression, autism, ADHD, stroke, traumatic brain injury, cerebral palsy, and other health conditions; best known for his groundbreaking BRAVEMIND PTSD therapy used with veterans and trauma survivors, he has collaborated extensively with computer scientists, engineers, artists, and medical leaders to advance the field, earning widespread recognition including being named one of Polygon’s top 25 VR innovators, Ozy’s “Godfather of Virtual Reality,” recipient of the 2018 Michael Dell “Engine of Human Progress” award, the ISTSS Trauma Innovation Award, the International Society on Virtual Rehabilitation Distinguished Service Award, the Best Paper Award for his VR ADHD classroom study involving 700 children, and the 2023 IEEE VR Lifetime Achievement Award; his team also secured second place and $1M funding in the VA Mission Daybreak competition for the Battle Buddy suicide-prevention system, while his career research portfolio exceeds $60M in funding—$30M specifically in Virtual Humans—with major grants from the Department of Defense, DARPA, VA, Army Research Lab, and leading industry partners including HP, Nvidia, Google, Dell, Intel, Samsung, HTC/Valve, AMD, Magic Leap, and many others; with more than 350 peer-reviewed publications, 31 chapters, 10 books, over 1000 professional presentations, 41 awards, and over 1000 media appearances, Dr. Rizzo’s influential body of work continues to shape and expand the global impact of clinical VR in healthcare and rehabilitation.

Profiles:  Orcid | Google Scholar

Featured Publications

Rizzo, A. S. (2025). Relationships between parent ratings of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder behaviors and the Virtual Reality Attention Tracker in school-aged children: Cross-sectional study. Journal of Medical Internet Research.

Rizzo, A. S. (2025). Virtual reality exposure for treating PTSD due to military sexual trauma. Journal of Clinical Psychology.

Rizzo, A. S. (2025). Expert consensus best practices for the safe, ethical, and effective design and implementation of artificially intelligent conversational agent (i.e., chatbot/virtual human) systems in health care applications. Journal of Medical Extended Reality.

Rizzo, A. S. (2024). Reporting guidelines for the early-phase clinical evaluation of applications using extended reality (RATE-XR): Qualitative study guideline. Journal of Medical Internet Research.

Rizzo, A. S. (2024). Advances in the use of virtual reality to treat mental health conditions. Nature Reviews Psychology.

Rizzo, A. S. (2024). Reporting guidelines for the early-phase clinical evaluation of applications using extended reality (RATE-XR): Qualitative study guideline (Preprint). JMIR Preprints.

Rizzo, A. S. (2023). Reporting the early-stage clinical evaluation of virtual-reality-based intervention trials: RATE-VR. Nature Medicine.

Rizzo, A. S. (2022). Enhancing exposure therapy for posttraumatic stress disorder: A randomized clinical trial of virtual reality and imaginal exposure with a cognitive enhancer. Translational Psychiatry.