MEET THE TEAM
The Smell Care team combines interdisciplinary academic expertise in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) & Digital Health, Medical Sciences/ Rhinology & Olfactology, and Built Environments/ Architecture & Interaction Design.
The academic team is supported by 3 project partners: Fifth Sense, Future Care Capital, and OWidgets- Smell Made Digital. The partners have complementary and leading expertise in their respective sectors, combining industry and end-user/charity perspectives, and with a vested interest in understanding users' engagement, compliance, and acceptability of Smell Care to inform future PPI, policy, and affordable technology development strategies.
The team
Principal Investigator, University College London, Computer Science Department
Marianna is Professor of Multisensory Interfaces at UCL (University College London), Department of Computer Science and Deputy Director (Digital Health) for the UCL Institute of Healthcare Engineering. Her research ambition is to establish touch, taste, and smell as interaction modalities in human-computer interaction (HCI). See details in the book on ‘Multisensory Experiences: where the senses meet technology’.
Co-Investigator, University of East Anglia, Norwich Medical School
Carl is Professor of Rhinology & Olfactology at the University of East Anglia (UEA) and established the UK’s first smell and taste clinic at the James Paget University Hospital. He leads a portfolio of research into smell and taste disorders and chronic rhinosinusitis at UEA. He is a trustee of the charity Fifth Sense.
Co-Investigator, University College London, Bartlett School of Architecture
Ava is the director of the Architectural Space & Computation PhD program at Bartlett and was the PI of ‘‘Screens in the Wild’’ funded by Digital Economy. Her research is in the area of Human Building Interaction, spanning across disciplinary boundaries. Her work focuses on action research, co-creation with end user communities, ‘in the wild’ investigation of design, & the integration of digital and physical ecologies ranging from the body scale into the city scale.
Co-Investigator, University College London, Department of Targeted Intervention
Matt is Associate Professor of Surgery at University College London and a Consultant Rhinologist with an interest in Olfactology. He has served as Co-Chief Investigator of the successfully completed COVANOS trial. He has been recently awarded a project grant by the Rosetrees Trust to run the COVANOS-2 trial and COPANOS trial, investigating innovative treatments for patients with smell dysfunction.
Ceylan Beşevli
Research Fellow, University College London, Computer Science Department
Ceylan is an industrial product designer and design researcher. She completed her Ph.D. in Interaction Design at Koç University (KUAR Design Lab & Language and Cognition Lab). Her Ph.D. was on developing tangible interfaces for young children. She also worked on gestural interaction in domestic settings, was the coordinator of the Design Thinking Group, a developed a course on Play & Innovation at KU.
Research Fellow, University College London, Computer Science Department
Giada is a user experience researcher with a Ph.D. in Human Computer Interaction at the University of Sussex (UK). She studies the effect of smell on body image perception using advanced technologies and mixed methods (quantitative and qualitative) approach. Her expertise sits at the intersection of clinical psychology (BSc), neuropsychology (MSc), computer science and design (PhD).
Sanjoli Mathur
Research Associate, University of East Anglia, Norwich Medical School
Sanjoli is an olfactory heritage researcher with a background in history (BA, Delhi University). She completed her MSc in Sustainable Heritage from University College London, where her dissertation investigated the impact that people’s cultural background has on their experience of smells, and how this can inform museums and heritage organisations that present smells to diverse audiences.
Christopher Dawes
Project Partner, OWidgets -
Researcher
Chris comes from a background in cognitive psychology with interests in computer science. He completed his BSc and MSc in Psychology at The University of Nottingham, where he has submitted his PhD in schizophrenia and Virtual Reality. He is a researcher at OWidgets, investigating digital smell training. Chris is also a Research Assistant at UCL Computer science investigating multi-sensory experiences.
Ana Marques
Design Technician, University College London
Ana is a multidisciplinary designer and illustrator based in London with a big passion for communicating education, science and research based topics. She undertook her bachelor’s degree in graphic design at Central Saint Martins (UAL), and her master’s in children’s book illustration at the Cambridge School of Arts (ARU). Ana’s work explores ways of using storytelling to create unique experiences and humanise information by mixing methodologies from learning design, user experience, visual communication and computer graphics.
Project Partner, OWidgets -
CEO & Co-Founder
Emanuela is CEO and co-founder of OWidgets with over ten years of experience in research and consultancy related to smell, including Unilever, Benetton, IFF, with a Ph.D in psychology of smell perception and emotions. In 2018, she was awarded a prestigious Royal Academy of Engineering Enterprise Fellowship and co-founded OWidgets Ltd in 2019, developing novel digital smell technology.
Project Partner, Fifth Sense, The Charity for People Affected by Smell and Taste Disorders - Chief Executive
Duncan is the Chief Executive and founder of Fifth Sense, the charity for people affected by smell and taste disorders. He lost his sense of smell as a result of a head injury. Fifth Sense provides support and information to those affected, delivers education and training, and supports research into smell and taste impairment via the Fifth Sense Research Hub.
Lauren Evans
Project Partner, Future Care Capital-Director of Research and Innovation
Lauren Evans is the director of Research and Innovation at FCC. She was was awarded a dual enterprise PhD from Cardiff University Schools of Healthcare Sciences and Engineering. She is a senior specialist in healthcare research, innovation and management. She has successfully delivered research and innovation projects, funding applications, published high-quality academic and research papers and delivered education modules in a range of sectors.
Nonna Shabanova
Former Tech/ Development Support, University College London, Computer Science Department
Nonna comes from a background in architecture with a BArch from the Moscow Architecture Institute and an MSc in Bio-Integrated Design from the BioChemical Engineering Department & Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL. Her thesis explored the deployment of scent into the built environment to help stop the spread of dengue disease. She has over 8 years of experience in computational design in leading Canadian Architecture firms, most recently working as Director of Digital Practice at RDH Architects.
Friends of Smell Care
Sabina Beganovic
Research Assistant
Rebecca Harris
UCL Undergraduate Student