People

Academic Staff

Despina Michael-Grigoriou, Lab Coordinator

Despina Michael-Grigoriou is an Associate Professor at the Department of Multimedia and Graphic Arts of the Cyprus University of Technology (CUT), where she serves as the Vice-Chair of the Department. She is also the founder and director of the Microsoft Computer Games and Emerging Technologies Research Lab - GET Lab ([getlab.org]), established with seed funding from Microsoft in 2012. She joined the University in 2012 and has served as Lecturer (2012–2015), Assistant Professor (2016–2021), and, since 2021, in her current rank. Prior to joining CUT, she was a postdoctoral visitor/researcher at the EVENT Lab, University of Barcelona (2011), which specializes in experiments within Virtual Reality systems, and a Lecturer (2009–2011) at the University of Nicosia. She obtained her PhD in Computer Graphics from the Department of Computer Science, University of Cyprus (2010).

Despina has received several awards and distinctions, including but not limited to: Anita Borg Scholarship awarded by Google (2008), nomination of her PhD dissertation for the Best PhD Thesis Award of the Eurographics Association (2011), Best Paper award (VSMM 2014), another Best Paper award (VS-Games 2014), certificate of a journal Top-Downloaded paper (CAVW 2018-2019), Best Audience Poster award (ICAT-EGVE 2020), Female Personality of CUT award (2023) and others. Her work has been published in leading scientific Q1 journals  and A* international conferences (e.g. Scientific Reports (Q1 journal), Virtual Reality (Q1 journal), Frontiers in Virtual Reality (Q1 journal), Computer Graphics Forum (Q1 journal),  Educational Technology and Society (Q1 journal), IEEE VR (A* rank)). Her work has been featured several times, with most recent highlights to include: her published research work presented at BBC Radio 4 (2020), featuring at MDPI Virtual Worlds journal’s front page (2025), marked as having more downloads and views than 97% of all Frontiers articles (Frontiers, 2025) and marked as ‘extremely highly cited compared to other publications in the same field’ (Dimensions, 2024 & 2025).

Despina is an Advisory Board member of the European Association of eXtended Realities (2025–today), elected by the General Assembly of the association. She is also an appointed, by invitation, member of the Eurographics Virtual Environments Working Group (2019–today) and an appointed, by invitation, member of the ICAT Steering Committee (2018–today), serving the oldest communities in Virtual Reality in the world. She also serves the research community by being a regular reviewer for leading scientific journals (e.g., Computers in Human Behavior, IEEE Transactions on Multimedia, Virtual Reality journal, Frontiers in Virtual Reality), scientific conferences (e.g., IEEE Virtual Reality, EuroXR, IEEE CoG), and research proposals (e.g., EU ERC grants), participating in editorial boards (e.g., Frontiers in Virtual Reality Review Editor), and being the chair or a member of organizing and program conference committees (e.g., EuroXR 2025 - Lead Program Chair, Scientific Track; EuroXR 2024 - Lead Program Chair, Applications Track; EAI ArtsIT 2024 - Program Committee; EuroXR 2023 - Program Chair, Applications Track; IEEE CoG 2022 - Program Committee; ICAT-EGVE 2018 - Lead General Chair & Local Organizing Chair). She has delivered various invited keynote talks and other presentations at international fora, including talks given in Abu Dhabi, Hong Kong, Canada, the USA, France, Spain, the Czech Republic, Greece, and Cyprus.

Despina has participated in more than 20 European and local funded projects on Virtual Reality and related fields, coordinating many of them and playing an instrumental and leading role in the acquisition of grants totaling over 50 million euros. She is a core initiator and the founding coordinator, on behalf of CUT, of the H2020-Teaming-RISE project, which led to the establishment and operation of the CYENS Centre of Excellence, where she led the Visual Science research pillar (2018–2023), and a founding member of the SCRC Social Computing Research Centre, where she also serves as a member of the board (2019–today). She has also served in many other managerial positions, including CUT Coordinator of the first inter-university program in Cyprus, the MSc in Games Design and Development (2012–2020), Centre of Excellence CUT Coordinator (2014–2021), Centre of Excellence Deputy Scientific Coordinator (2015–2023), and University Senate member (2018, 2023–2024, re-elected 2024).

Senior Research Associates

Domna Banakou, Senior Research Associate
Dr Domna Banakou completed her PhD in Clinical Psychology and Psychobiology at the University of Barcelona in 2017. She also holds a Master’s degree in Computer Graphics, Vision and Imaging from University College London (UCL), UK, and a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from the Ionian University, Greece. She combines technical expertise and experience in research methodologies to understand and promote the use of virtual reality in the fields of psychology and cognitive neuroscience. Her research focuses on body representation in immersive virtual reality, exploring the perceptual, behavioral, and higher-level cognitive correlates of body ownership illusions that occur as a function of the type of body in which embodiment occurs.

 PhD Candidates

Christos Hadjipanayi, PhD Student
Christos Hadjipanayi is a research associate with GET Lab, Department of Multimedia and Graphic Arts, Cyprus University of Technology. He received the B.Sc. degree in Communication and Internet Studies and the M.A. degree in Interactive Multimedia from Cyprus University of Technology. His research interests include virtual reality, video games, UX design and social issues.

Ali Najm, PhD Student & RISE Research Associate
Ali Najm is a PhD student with GET Lab and a research associate with RISE VR for Well-Being research group. He received a B.Sc. degree in Engineering from Azad University of Tehran, Iran (2009) and an M.A. degree in Business administration from University of Cyprus (2012). His research interests include virtual reality, video games, data analysis and monitoring/interactive instruments. Ali has more than ten years of experience in development of monitoring instruments including primary research, technical design, 3D modelling, animation and software development as well as project management and interpretation of monitoring data.

Research Affiliates

Christos Kyrlitsias, Research Associate, PhD Graduate
​​Christos Kyrlitsias is a Research Associate in the Department of Multimedia & Graphic Arts. He has completed his PhD at GET Lab of the Department of Multimedia & Graphic Arts, Cyprus University of Technology, under supervision of Despina Michael-Grigoriou in 2021. He holds a BA in Multimedia and Graphic Arts and an MSc in Design and Development of Computer Games and Interactive Technologies at Cyprus University of Technology. Since 2014, Christos is a Research Associate at Microsoft Computer Games and Emerging Technologies research lab and H2020-TEAMING-RISE (Stage2) project. His research interests include applications of virtual reality in psychology, video games, and interactive applications.

Dimitris Sokratous, Research Affiliate/Associate
Dimitris Sokratous holds a Bachelor οf Science Degree in Physiotherapy and in Physical Education and Sports Science, he has a Master of Science Degree in "Brain and Cognitive Sciences" as well, and he is a PhD candidate candidate in the field of Neurorehabilitation, at the Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, of the Cyprus University of Technology (CUT). Additionally, he is the chairman of the Cyprus Neurological Physical Therapy Specialized Group and a research affiliate/associate at the Microsoft Computer Games and Emerging Technologies Research Lab (GET Lab), at the Department of Multimedia and Graphic Arts, of the CUT. Dimitris Sokratous at the present state, he is the senior physiotherapist at the Cyprus Institute of Neurology and Genetics and he is a member of the Special Teaching Staff at the Frederick University (Limassol campus).

PhD Graduates

Successfully completed PhDs students:

At GET Lab under the supervision of our coordinator, Assoc. Prof. Despina Michael-Grigoriou as main supervisor:

Christos Kyrlitsias, at GET Lab, in 2021
Maria Christofi, at GET Lab, in 2021
Panagiotis Charalampous, at GET Lab, in 2020

At Dept. of Multimedia and Graphic Arts, with our coordinator Assoc. Prof. Despina Michael-Grigoriou as a member of the supervising committee:

Eleni Dimitriadou, at MGA Dept-VMC Lab, in 2024
Marianna Ioannou, at MGA Dept-CIL Lab, in 2023
Christiana Zavlanou, at MGA Dept-VMC Lab, in 2022
Kalliopi-Evangelia Stavroullia, at MGA Dept-VMC Lab, in 2020
Efi Nisiforou, at MGA Dept, in 2016

Christos Kyrlitsias, Research Associate, PhD Graduate
​​Christos Kyrlitsias is a Research Associate in the Department of Multimedia & Graphic Arts. He has completed his PhD at GET Lab of the Department of Multimedia & Graphic Arts, Cyprus University of Technology, under supervision of Despina Michael-Grigoriou in 2021. He holds a BA in Multimedia and Graphic Arts and an MSc in Design and Development of Computer Games and Interactive Technologies at Cyprus University of Technology. Since 2014, Christos is a Research Associate at Microsoft Computer Games and Emerging Technologies research lab and H2020-TEAMING-RISE (Stage2) project. His research interests include applications of virtual reality in psychology, video games, and interactive applications.

Maria Christofi, PhD Graduate
Maria Christofi is a Research Associate at the Department of Multimedia and Graphic Arts. She got her Ph.D. from the Department of Multimedia and Graphic Arts of the Cyprus University of Technology (2021) Maria Christofi conducted and successfully completed her PhD at GET Lab under the supervision of Despina Michael-Grigoriou. Her topic was on "Virtual Reality as a Medium for Attitude Change". She holds a B.Sc. in Computer Science (2014) from the University of Cyprus and an M.Sc. in Design and Development of Computer Games and Interactive Technologies (2015) from the Cyprus University of Technology and the University of Cyprus. She is currently a Research Associate at GET Lab, at the H2020-TEAMING-RISE (Stage2) project and at the CYENS Centre of Excellence in Nicosia, Cyprus, at the "Virtual Reality for Well-Being" MRG. Her research interests include Virtual Reality, video games, embodiment, and psychology.

Panagiotis Charalampous, PhD Graduate
Panagiotis Charalampous has recently completed his PhD at the Department of Multimedia & Graphic Arts, Cyprus University of Technology. He has a diversified scientific background as he holds a BSc in Informatics from the Technological Institute of Athens, an MBA in Management of Engineering and Technology from Northcentral University in Arizona as well as a wealth of professional certifications on various Microsoft Technologies. He has a professional experience in a wide range of software applications and his current research interests evolve around computational acoustics and their applications on virtual reality, interactive environments and video games. Alongside with his PhD studies, he is a senior software engineer at Mediterranean Acoustics R&D, assisting on research and development of innovative software applications in various fields of acoustics.