The Team - Virtual Avatar & Agent Interaction Lab

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Martin Kocur

Assistant Professor & Lab Director

Martin Kocur is an Assistant Professor in the Human Factors and Cognitive Psychology Ph.D. program at the University of Central Florida’s Department of Psychology. He holds a B.A. in Media Informatics and Information Science and an M.Sc. of Media Informatics from the University of Regensburg in Germany. Before coming to the University of Central Florida, he did his PhD in Media Informatics also at University of Regensburg and worked as an Assistant Professor in the Department Digital Media at the University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria in Austria. His research focuses on human–computer interaction, with a particular emphasis on the role of virtual avatars in shaping self-perception. He is especially interested in how altering users’ self-representation in immersive virtual environments can enhance performance, enrich subjective experience, and modulate physiological responses during interaction.

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Samuel Lee Taylor

Ph.D. Student

Samuel is a first-year Ph.D. student in the Human Factors and Cognitive Psychology program. Before joining the program at UCF, he worked as a Clinical Research Coordinator at UAB’s Behavioral Sleep Medicine Clinic. He earned his B.S. in Psychology with a minor in German from Samford University where he conducted several research studies evaluating the effects of guided meditation exercises on perceived stress and anxiety. He also served as a manager for the Varsity Baseball team and worked in Samford’s Visual Cognition Lab, which serves as a valuable tool for both students and athletes looking to improve their visual performance. Samuel then went on to earn his M.A. in Applied Psychology from Liberty University. Outside of his schoolwork, he enjoys tutoring philosophy, history, and psychology and has a great affinity for sports. He hopes to one day work for a professional team as a researcher, mentor, and team psychologist.

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Kale Lawhorne

Research Assistant

Kale is a sophomore majoring in psychology. His research interests include social, cognitive, and abnormal psychology, which focus on social phenomena such as “FOMO,” response time, and the prevalence of certain psychological disorders in the modern technological age. He plans to pursue his master’s degree in either clinical psychology or data science in order to become a psychotherapist or a data analyst.

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Jonaris Delgado

Research Assistant

Jonaris is a freshman at UCF studying Psychology on the general track. She personally finds VR super interesting, especially applied to video game like experiences. This is why she is excited to be able to do research at the VAAIL to be able to understand how VR can affect users.

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Nyah McFarlane

Research Assistant

Nyah is a Junior majoring in Psychology on the Neuroscience Track. Her research interests are concentrated in the field psychobiology, behavior, and emotion. Upon graduating she plans to pursue a master’s degree in clinical psychology. Eventually she will apply to Psy.D. Programs in hopes of continuing in research.

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Isabel Price

Research Assistant

Isabel is a senior at UCF majoring in Psychology, Clinical Track and is completing a Leadership Undergraduate Certificate. Her research interests include relationships, behavior modification, and how technology can affect human development in the future. She is very excited to work with VAAIL and see how VR and changing self-perception can affect a person physically.

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Elizabeth Frederick

Research Assistant

Elizabeth is a junior majoring in Psychology on the Neuroscience track. Her research interests include sensation, perception, and physiological responses, particularly how environmental factors can influence psychological experiences and stress. She is interested in pursuing a career in psychiatry and plans to attend medical school after completing her undergraduate degree.

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Rajan Jinadra

Research Assistant

Rajan is a junior majoring in Data Science with a passion for Analytics and research related to human factors, human data, and their correspondence. My research interests lie in exploring how new visual AI changes human carbon print and how that affects the overall world data, as new data is emerging every day.

Alumni

Adriana Chaparro-Gonzalez – Research Assistant (Fall 2025 – Spring 2026)

Joshua Malam – Research Assistant (Fall 2025 – Spring 2026)

Andres Palau – Research Assistant (Spring 2026 – Summer 2026)

Cheyenne Ivey- Research Assistant (Fall 2025 – Summer 2026)