Biography

Denise joined the iSpace team in Fall 2016 as a grad­u­ate stu­dent and has been involved in the immer­sive real­i­ties as a designer and researcher since 2009. Denise explores how con­tem­pla­tive prac­tices of com­pas­sion and pos­i­tive emo­tion cul­ti­va­tion like awe and wonder, com­bined with social sup­port, can be opti­mized into ther­a­peu­tic vir­tual real­ity (VR) expe­ri­ences for both clin­i­cal and non-clinical pop­u­la­tions. To under­stand how this approach may enhance pos­i­tive life tra­jec­to­ries and flour­ish­ing of vul­ner­a­ble groups, she draws upon inter­dis­ci­pli­nary knowl­edge and method­olo­gies from com­puter sci­ence, clin­i­cal sci­ences, and con­tem­pla­tive sci­ences, ensur­ing a com­pre­hen­sive and holis­tic approach to the study of dig­i­tal health tech­nol­ogy. This knowl­edge stems from her prior activ­i­ties in sci­en­tific research/R&D, cre­ative indus­tries, vol­un­teer work, and life expe­ri­ences, inform­ing her com­mit­ment to explore VR as a ther­a­peu­tic inter­ven­tion within care sys­tems and her moti­va­tion around under­stand­ing how tech­nol­ogy can help facil­i­tate com­pas­sion, under­stand­ing, inter­con­nec­tiv­ity for our­selves, one another, and our planet. Denise’s method­olog­i­cal approaches aim to empower end users as experts through­out all phases of research as co-designers and co-creators. By cen­ter­ing their lived expe­ri­ences and insights, we can improve effec­tive­ness and trans­fer­abil­ity of VR inter­ven­tions across diverse pop­u­la­tions. Her 2017 TEDxSFU talk describes more about her per­sonal approach.

As an advo­cate, Denise sees sci­en­tific research as a pow­er­ful tool to amplify advo­cacy efforts and make poten­tial solu­tions acces­si­ble for indi­vid­u­als and com­mu­ni­ties. As an active vol­un­teer with ser­vice to the global com­mu­nity, she vol­un­teers as an indi­vid­ual and with non-profit orga­ni­za­tions involved in health care and tech­nol­ogy advo­cacy and pol­i­cy­mak­ing. Denise cre­ated and chaired the SIGGRAPH VR Village (2015−2017) for inter­dis­ci­pli­nary syn­ergy for VR devel­op­ment and access in sci­en­tific, enter­tain­ment, med­ical, and edu­ca­tion fields. Overall, Denise’s work at iSpace Lab encom­passes not only rig­or­ous sci­en­tific inquiry but also a broader com­mit­ment to advo­cacy, acces­si­bil­ity, and the well-being of indi­vid­u­als and communities.

Projects

Compassionate Connection Oasis VR Toolkit (ccOasisVR)

Empowering Emerging Adults through Compassion and Enhanced Social Connection: Co-creating a Compassionate Connection Oasis VR Toolkit (ccOasisVR) Emerging adulthood (18-25) is a critical developmental phase, a tumultuous transition marked by heightened distress, and, unfortunately, a decreased likelihood that Emerging Adults (EAs) will seek support. The COVID-19 pandemic further exposed the urge...

By bernhard riecke, alex kitson, denise quesnel, noah miller, jacob sauer, andrea gaggioli, katarina tabi, patrick pennefather, alissa antle, steve dipaola, david glowacki & maja wrzesien Read more

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Pathways to flourishing

Leveraging Virtual Reality for cultivating compassion, resilience, social connectedness, and healthy habits in emerging adults facing chronic health challenges About half of youths with chronic physical conditions develop anxiety and/or depression, causing significant distress and disruption within their lives over many years. This underscores their need for well-being tools- particularly ones t...

By denise quesnel, bernhard riecke, noah miller, jacob sauer, alex kitson, katarina tabi, sylvain moreno, beth payne, faranak farzan, dzung vo, steve dipaola & jennifer wilson Read more

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Awedyssey: VR for pro­mo­ting and enhancing well-being

We are investigating and creating a new virtual reality (VR) experience, 'Awedyssey', for the promotion and enhancement of well-being. Today, digital technology pervasively intersects with our daily lives, and VR stands out as a digital tool capable of fostering positive emotion like awe, self-transcendence, and authentic social connection. Connecting with nature is very important for our mental...

By denise quesnel, noah miller, katerina stepanova, john desnoyers stewart, jacob sauer, ashu adhikari, patrick pennefather, alex kitson, alexander stahn & bernhard riecke Read more

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HyperJump flying to combat motion sickness

HyperJumping in Virtual Vancouver: Combating Motion Sickness by Merging Teleporting and Continuous VR Locomotion in an Embodied Hands-Free VR Flying Paradigm Motion sickness, unintuitive navigation, and limited agency are critical issues in VR/XR impeding wide-spread adoption and enjoyable user experiences. To tackle these challenges, we present HyperJump, a novel VR interface merging advantages ...

By bernhard riecke, david clement, markus von der heyde, ashu adhikari, denise quesnel, daniel zielasko, ivan aguilar, kenneth karthik & ernst kruijff, Read more

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SIRIUS - Virtual Earthgazing to mitigate effects of sensory isolation

SIRIUS (Scientific International Research in Unique Terrestrial Station) is a series of on-land isolation experiments modelling long-term spaceflight in order to assess the psychophysiological effects of isolation on a crew and prepare for long-duration spaceflights, such as a trip to Mars. An 8-month-long isolation study commenced in Moscow on Nov 4th, 2021, where a crew of 6 people (from Roscosm...

By noah miller, katerina stepanova, john desnoyers stewart, ashu adhikari, bernhard riecke, patrick pennefather, alex kitson, denise quesnel & alexander stahn Read more

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VR/MR/AR 4 Good: Creating with a Purpose

Interested in connecting & joining? If you're interested in connecting to others engaged or interested in the xR4Good field, you could join the xR4Good facebook group, or fill out this online signup sheet and state what you're interested in Introduction Over the past five years, we have seen awareness and creation of Virtual, Mixed, and Augmented Reality (VR/MR/AR or, the ‘immersive realit...

By bernhard riecke, denise quesnel & patrick pennefather Read more

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Connected through "AWE": creating immersive experiences for social connection

Do you get enough “awe” in your life? In our busy day-to-day lives, we often take our experiences for granted. While we have the technology to connect with one another, like smart phones, we don’t necessarily get outside with nature, or stargaze. Such activities may consist of common awe-inspiring moments, and we now understand that feeling awe is associated with all sorts of social and well...

By bernhard riecke, denise quesnel, katerina stepanova, alex kitson, ivan aguilar, john desnoyers stewart, noah miller, pinyao liu & patrick pennefather Read more

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Virtual Earthgazing - towards an overview effect in Virtual Reality

How can we use immersive VR to give people pivotal positive experiences without having to send them out into space?   “We went to the Moon as technicians, we returned as humanitarians” reflected Edgar Mitchell after his space flight. This describes the overview effect – a profound awe-inspiring experience of seeing Earth from space resulting in a cognitive shift in worldview, le...

By bernhard riecke, katerina stepanova, denise quesnel, alex kitson, ivan aguilar & mirjana prpa Read more

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Sonic Cradle

Sonic Cradle suspends the body is a completely dark chamber which encourages experiences comparable to mindfulness meditation.  Users compose peaceful soundscapes in real-time using only their breathing. [vimeo 35764652] Introduction and demo of the Sonic Cradle Sonic Cradle is a relaxing human-computer interaction paradigm designed to foster meditative attentional patterns.  The current p...

By jay vidyarthi, bernhard riecke, diane gromala, alex kitson, mirjana prpa & denise quesnel Read more

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Publications