Nell Baghaei

Dr Nilufar (Nell) Baghaei is an Associate Professor in the School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at The University of Queensland, and Co-Director of the Mixed Reality Lab. She leads a high-impact, interdisciplinary research group focused on designing immersive technologies and games, and studying their effectiveness in improving health and education outcomes. Dr Baghaei has built a strong national and international reputation through prolific publications in top-tier venues, editorial and leadership roles in major journals and conferences, securing more than $3M in successful external grants (as lead CI or technical lead CI), and successful supervision of research students (Google Scholar h-index: 30; citations: 3500+). She is currently supervising 11 HDR students (6 as principal supervisor) and serves on several UQ committees. She was awarded the 2025 Faculty Research Excellence Award in the supervision category. Dr Baghaei is an Associate Editor for the International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, and Games for Health Journal, and serves as the Organising Committee Member/Associate Chair for IEEE ISMAR and ACM CHI (A*-ranked conferences in immersive tech and HCI). She acted as Program Chair for the International Conference on Persuasive Technology (2022, 2024) and Associate Editor of Virtual Reality (2021-2026). Her research has been cited in policy and patent documents, and featured in media outlets including Psychology Today, MedicalXpress, and 7NEWS Australia. Prior to joining UQ, she led the Games and Extended Reality Lab at Massey University, New Zealand. Virtual Reality, Game-based Learning, Digital Health, AI in Education, Persuasive Technology

[2026] I Made the Choice, Did I? Exploring the Influence of Goal-Directed AI on Human Decision-Making. Wen, Ruoyu, Cao, Jiashuo, Gupta, Kunal, Hoermann, Simon, Billinghurst, Mark, Nassani, Alaeddin, Baghaei, Nilufar, Allan, Dwain and Piumsomboon, Thammathip (2026). I Made the Choice, Did I? Exploring the Influence of Goal-Directed AI on Human Decision-Making. International Journal of Human–Computer Interaction, 1-36. doi: 10.1080/10447318.2026.2719171 [2026] Dismantling the mechanism of VR self-compassion training: a two-session controlled trial with active controls. Xia, Hongfeng, Coundouris, Sarah P., Elliott, Thomas C., Baghaei, Nilufar, Oestreich, Lena K.L., Greig, Lachlan, Henry, Julie D. and Kirby, James N. (2026). Dismantling the mechanism of VR self-compassion training: a two-sessi