Rea Michalopoulou

Thesis title: Children, COVID-19, and Virtual Reality

Biography

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

British Psychological Society - Graduate membership (GMBPsS) (2021-present)

Children, Adolescents and Animals Research Group (caar) - Member (2022-present)

Pioneering Analytics for Transformative Higher Education (PATH) Research Cluster - Researcher (2022-present)

Research Bow Blog - Co-Editor in Chief (2023-present)

School of Health in Social Science - PhD in Clinical Psychology Programme Representative (2023-2024)

Edinburgh Futures Institute - PhD Affiliate (2024-present)

Child and Adolescent Mental Health Research (CAMHR) Centre - Member (2024-present)

Undergraduate teaching

2024-25

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]

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

2024-25

School of Health in Social Science

  • Typical and Atypical Child Development (CLPS11080) [SEM1]
  • Developmental Psychology and Developmental Psychopathology (CLPS11054) [SEM2]
  • Attachment, Wellbeing and Mental Health (CLPS11079) [SEM2]
  • Biological Psychology (CLPS11083) [SEM2]

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 psycho-education interventions.

Current research interests

illness perceptions; mental health; virtual reality; children; adolescents; clinical psychology; developmental psychology; health psychology

Affiliated research centres

Project activity

Children's understanding of Covid-19 and VR interventions PhD project

Current project grants

* CDCS Digital Research Fund (£1,200; May 2024) - Issued by Edinburgh Centre for Data, Culture & Society, University of Edinburgh (internal) - I was awarded the fund in support of the development of a VR application that will be directly utilised in my PhD's final project.
* The Onassis Foundation Scholarship - (£32,300; 2022-2025) - Awarded for the duration of my PhD

Past project grants

* EFI projects and events grant (£1,000; Apr 2024) - Issued by Edinburgh Futures Institute, University of Edinburgh (internal) - I was awarded the grant towards the development of a VR application that will be directly utilised in my PhD's final project.
* Student Community Fund - (£200; Apr 2024) - Issued by School of Health in Social Science, University of Edinburgh (internal) - Was awarded the Student Community Fund 2023/24 from the School of Health in Social Science to organise and run a programming workshop for the PGRs, as part of the Research Bow Editorial Team.
* Student Partnership Agreement Small Project funding - (£990; Nov 2023) - Issued by Institute for Academic Development, University of Edinburgh (internal) - As the programme representative of the PhD in clinical and health psychology, I co-applied and secured the fund to run a community-building initiative in the School of Health in Social Science.

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

Organiser

One-Day SHiSS PGR Research Festival 2024 (29th of May 2024)

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