Curriculum vitae
PERSONAL INFORMATION
Family name, First name: VENTURA SARA
Nationality: Italy
Date of birth: 20/01/1991
Email: sara91ventura@gmail.com
http://www.saraventura.org
INTRODUCTION
I started my postgraduate career in 2015 right after obtaining a master’s degree in psychology supervised by Prof. Giuseppe Riva (Italy). In 2017 I gained the competitive Santiago Grisolia research scholarship (National Plan R&D, GRISOLIA) to develop the PhD at University of Valencia, supervised by Prof. Rosa Baños (full professor of psychopathology at University of Valencia, Spain), and the codirection of Prof. Giuseppe Riva (full professor of psychology at Catholic University of Milan, Italy). The project of the doctoral thesis was focused on the study of empathy through virtual reality, namely changing perspective from male to female one to cover the problem of sexual harassment (PhD Thesis_SV [file:///C:/Users/Amministratore/Desktop/Carriera%20Professionale/Documenti%20privati/PhD%20Thesis_SV] ). On March 2019 I gained the Erasmus+ fellowship for professors and researchers (PDI) for a stay at Catholic University of Milan (Italy). Moreover, during the PhD I gained a fellowship from Generalitat Valenciana (National Plan R&D, BFPI-2019) to do a 4-month research stay at Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico (Mexico, from 1st Sept. to 31st Dec. 2019) where I developed part of my doctoral thesis. Furthermore, during the PhD I was a member of the Polibienestar Institute (University of Valencia). I obtained my PhD with Cum Laude honors and International Mention on 29th October 2020 from University of Valencia (Spain). Actually, I am a postdoctoral researcher at University of Bologna (Italy) where I am involved in the project named “multifunctional adaptive and interactive Artificial Intelligence system for acting in multiple contexts”.
I am mainly interested in applied psychology and Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) issues and, in my research career, I have always applied a multidisciplinary approach using the knowledge in HCI and psychology to bring some innovative methodologies to research in cyberpsychology. Specifically, I focused the research on understanding the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) such as virtual and augmented reality in the design, development, and evaluation of psychological protocol. However, I am also interested in other topics related to Artificial Intelligence and User Experience.
All this experience has allowed me to deepen my knowledge in application of ICT to psychology and viceversa, learning rigorous multidisciplinary methodology, and develop network of national and international contacts in the field of psychology and technology.
GENERAL QUALITY INDICATORS OF SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH
h-Index: 2 (source: Web of Science and Scopus, 08/03/2021) and 3 (source: Google Scholar,
08/03/2021). Total number of citations: 48 (source: Google Scholar, 08/03/2021).
EDUCATION
01/10/2017 – 29/10/2020: PhD in Clinical Psychology, University of Valencia (Spain), Supervisors: Rosa Baños, Giuseppe Riva. Thesis: Promoting empathy through Virtual Reality: the case of sexual harassment. Score: Cum Laude, International mention.
01/03/2016 – 01/03/2017: Post-graduated internship in Cyberpsychology, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico (Mexico), Supervisor: Georgina Cardenas, Project: Improve memory and attention impairments through Virtual Reality.
01/09/2013 – 15/12/2015: Master degree in Ergonomic Psychology, Catholic University of Milan (Italy), Supervisor: Giuseppe Riva, Thesis: PsyHelp: mobile app for therapist and patient.
01/09/2010 – 30/06/2013: Bachelor Degree in Psychology, University of Padua (Italy), Supervisor: Luciano Gamberini, Thesis: the sense of presence in Virtual Reality.
CURRENT POSITION
March 2021 – present: Postdoctoral researcher at University of Bologna (Italy).
PREVIOUS POSITIONS
01/10/2017 – 29/10/2020: Junior researcher and PhD student, University of Valencia (Spain)
01/09/2019 – 31/12/2019: Junior Researcher (predoctoral internship), Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico (Mexico City, Mexico)
FELLOWSHIPS AND AWARDS
01/10/2017 – 29/10/2020: Santiago Grisolia research scholarship for foreign predoctoral researchers from government of Valencia (Spain), 50.400€
01/04/2019 – 15/04/2019: Erasmus+ grant for researchers, Catholic University of Milan (Italy), 800€
01/09/2019 – 31/12/2019: BEFPI-2019, Grant from government of Valencia (Spain) to develop part of the PhD project into the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico (Mexico), 4.600€
PROFESSIONAL TRAINING
2018 – 2019: Specific seminars, conferences and research meetings, University of Valencia (Spain)
2017 – 2020: Seminar on scientific publication in psychology, University of Valencia (Spain)
2017 – 2020: Seminar on research techniques in psychology, University of Valencia (Spain)
30/09/2018 – 30/11/2018 Refworks 2.0 for managing personal literature in the humanities and social sciences, University of Valencia (Spain)
11/06/2018 - 02/07/2018 Survey design. Implementation of online surveys with LimeSurvey.
University of Valencia (Spain)
25/06/2018 - 05/07/2018 Data analysis with SPSS (methodology), University of Valencia (Spain)
03/07/2019 - 11/07/2019 Data analysis (I). Data management and description, University of Valencia (Spain)
25/06/2019 - 27/06/2019 The Atlas.ti program as a tool for analysis. Qualitative information.
University of Valencia (Spain)
30/03/2020 – 31/05/2020 Refworks 2.0 for science and health sciences literature management.
University of Valencia (Spain)
COMMISSIONS OF TRUST
2020 – present: Peer Review for Frontiers in Psychiatry Journal
2017 – present: Peer Review for Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking Journal
2017 – present: Peer Review for Virtual Reality Journal
2019 – present: Peer Review for Helyon Journal
2019 – present: Peer Review for Public Health Genomics Journal
MEMBERSHIPS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES
2015 – present: Associated member at International Association of CyberPsychology, Training, and Rehabilitation (iACToR)
JOURNAL ARTICLES
- Ventura, S., Cardenas, G., Miragall, M., Riva, G., & Baños, R. (2020). How Does It Feel to Be a Woman Victim of Sexual Harassment? The Effect of 360°-Video-Based Virtual Reality on Empathy and Related Variables. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking.
- Ventura, S., Badenes-Ribera, L., Herrero, R., Cebolla, A., Galiana, L., & Baños, R. (2020). Virtual Reality as a Medium to Elicit Empathy: A Meta-Analysis. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking.
- Ventura, S., Brivio, E., Riva, G., & Baños, R. M. (2019). Immersive Versus Non-immersive Experience: Exploring the Feasibility of Memory Assessment Through 360° Technology. Frontiers in Psychology, 10.
- Ventura, S., Brivio, E., Riva, G., & Baños, R. (2019, July). Memory Evaluation Through 360° Technologies: Preliminary Study with Spanish Population. In 2019 International Conference on Virtual Rehabilitation (ICVR) (pp. 1-3). IEEE.
- Cebolla, A., Herrero, R., Ventura, S., Miragall, M., Bellosta-Batalla, M., Llorens, R., & Baños, R. M. (2019). Putting oneself in the body of others: A pilot study on the efficacy of an embodied virtual reality system to generate self-compassion. Frontiers in psychology, 10.
- Ventura, S., Cebolla, A., Herrero, R., & Maria Baños, R. (2018). Qualitative research of an innovative virtual reality embodiment system: The machine to be another. In Proceedings of the 12th international conference on Disability Virtual Reality and Associated Technologies.
- Ventura, S., Baños, R. M., Botella, C., & Mohamudally, N. (2018). Virtual and augmented reality: New frontiers for clinical psychology. In State of the Art Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality Knowhow (pp. 99-118). InTech.
CONFERENCES
12/11/2020: II Congreso Salud Mental Digital. Project: La Realidad Virtual como herramienta para estudiar la empatía y enfrentar el problema del acoso de género hacia la mujer. Authors: Ventura S.; Cardenas G.; Riva G.; Baños RM. Madrid (Spain, online)
03-05/10/2019: Technology, Mind and Society Conference (APATech). Washington (USA)
26/09/2019: 2º Congreso de Evaluación, Competencia e innovación en evaluación. Project: Acoso de género: evaluación de un procedimiento basado en tecnología inmersiva con video 360° para estudiar el sentido de empatía. Authors: Ventura S.; Cardenas G.; Riva G.; Baños RM.
Mexico City (Mexico)
22-23/07/2019: International Conference on Virtual Rehabilitation. Project: Memory Evaluation Through 360 Technologies: Preliminary Study with Spanish Population. Authors: Ventura S.; Brivio E.; Riva G.; Baños RM. Tel-Aviv (Israel)
28/02/2019 – 01/03/2019: Virtual and Robotic Embodiment Symposium: From Neuroscience to Virtual Reality and Robotics. Barcelona (Spain)
04-06/09/2018: 12° International conference on disability, virtual reality and associated technology (ICDVRAT). Project: Qualitative research of an innovative virtual reality embodiment system: The Machine to Be Another. Authors: Ventura S.; Herrero R.; Cebolla A.; Baños RM.
Nottingham (UK)
20-23/06/2018: 5º International mindfulness conference. Project: Putting into the body of others. Authors: Cebolla A., Ventura, S,; Bellosta, M, Herrero, R., y Baños, RM. Zaragoza (Spain)
13/09/2017: 5º Foro De Ciberpsicologia. Project: Tele-rehabilitation for attention and memory disorder in patients with traumatic brain injury through Virtual Reality. Authors: Cardenas G.; Gamito P.; Ramirez M.; Ventura S.; Oliveira J.; Lopes P.; Morais D.; Flores N.
Mexico City (Mexico)
26-28 /06/2017: 22º Annual CyberPsychology, Cybertherapy & Social Networking Conference. Project: Tele-rehabilitation for attention and memory disorder in patients with traumatic brain injury through Virtual Reality. Authors: Cardenas G.; Gamito P.; Ramirez M.; Ventura S.; Oliveira J.; Lopes P.; Morais D.; Flores N. Wolverhampton (UK)
06-08/10/2016: 14º Congreso Mexicano De Psicologia. Project: Tele-rehabilitation for attention and memory disorder in patients with traumatic brain injury through Virtual Reality. Authors: Gamito P.; Ramirez M.; Ventura S.; Oliveira J.; Lopes P.; Morais D.; Flores N.
Mexico City (Mexico)
MAJOR COLLABORATIONS
2017 – present: Rosa Baños, University of Valencia (Spain)
2015 – present: Giuseppe Riva, Catholic University of Sacred Heart (Italy)
2016 – present: Georgina Cardenas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Mexico (Mexico)
ABROAD STAY
01/09/2012 - 28/02/2013: Karoly Gaspar University of Budapest (Hungary)
2016 - 2017: Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (México)
2017 - 2020: University of Valencia (Spain)
01/09/2019 – 31/12/2019: Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (México)
LANGUAGES
Italian, English, Spanish
Personal Data: I herebyauthorizethe use ofmy personal datain accordance to the GDPR 679/16 - "European regulation on the protection of personal data".
Date: 08/03/2021
