Ancret Szpak

Research Interests

Human Factors Sensory Processes, Perception and Performance Virtual and mixed reality Virtual Reality and Related Simulation

Dr Ancret Szpak

Lecturer

School of Psychology

College of Education, Behavioural and Social Sciences

Eligible to supervise Masters and PhD - email supervisor to discuss availability.

I am a part-time Lecturer and Researcher in the School of Psychology at Adelaide University, where I teach in the Online Graduate Diploma in Psychology (Advanced). My research explores the application of virtual reality, augmented reality, and wearable technologies to improve health, performance, and wellbeing. Drawing on cognitive psychology, human factors, and implementation science, I work with clinicians, industry, and community partners to develop and evaluate innovative digital interventions that address real-world challenges. I am passionate about translating psychological research into practical solutions that improve outcomes for individuals and communities.

My research explores how virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and wearable technologies can be leveraged to improve health, education, performance, and well-being. I investigate how immersive technologies can improve training, performance, and decision-making, with a strong focus on translating research into practical, real-world applications.

Research Themes:

  • Immersive healthcare: Developing VR and AR technologies to support clinical training, telehealth, and healthcare delivery.
  • Training and skill acquisition: Designing and evaluating immersive training with a particular focus on skill transfer from virtual to real-world environments.
  • Human performance and well-being: Investigating how immersive technologies and wearable sensors can be used to enhance cognitive performance, health, and well-being.
  • User experience and human factors: Understanding the factors that influence usability, presence, and adoption of immersive technologies across diverse populations.
  • Cybersickness and side effects: Identifying the causes, consequences, and mitigation strategies for cybersickness and other physiological and cognitive aftereffects associated with immersive technologies.
  • Implementation and translation: Applying implementation science to facilitate the successful adoption and integration of immersive technologies into healthcare, education, and community settings.

Date Position Institution name
2023 - ongoing Research Fellow Adelaide University
2023 - ongoing Lecturer Adelaide University
2018 - 2023 Research Associate University of South Australia
2016 - 2018 Research Fellow Flinders University

Date Institution name Country Title
2012 - 2016 Flinders University Australia PhD

Year Citation
2026 McMillan, N., Szpak, A., Szpak, Z., Snelling, H., Agius, J., Loughry, C., . . . Fitridge, R. (2026). Acceptability and Utility of a Virtual Reality Diabetes-Related Foot Disease Training Program for First Nations People: A Pragmatic Quasi-Experimental Case Series Study. Australian Journal of Rural Health, 34(4), 10 pages.
DOI
2025 Zarei, T., Emery, M., Saredakis, D., Lee, G. A., Stubbs, B., Szpak, A., & Loetscher, T. (2025). 'Being there together for health': a systematic review on the feasibility, effectiveness and design considerations of immersive collaborative virtual environments in health applications. Human Behavior and Emerging Technologies, 2025(4269145), 1-24.
DOI Scopus1 WoS1
2024 Franze, A., Loetscher, T., Gallomarino, N. C., Szpak, A., Lee, G., & Michalski, S. C. (2024). Immersive virtual reality is more effective than non-immersive devices for developing real-world skills in people with intellectual disability.. J Intellect Disabil Res, 68(12), 1358-1373.
DOI Scopus18 WoS15 Europe PMC3
2023 Michalski, S. C., Gallomarino, N. C., Szpak, A., May, K. W., Lee, G., Ellison, C., & Loetscher, T. (2023). Improving real-world skills in people with intellectual disabilities: an immersive virtual reality intervention. Virtual Reality, 27(4), 3521-3532.
DOI Scopus39 WoS26 Europe PMC1
2022 Michalski, S. C., Szpak, A., Ellison, C., Cornish, R., & Loetscher, T. (2022). Using Virtual Reality to Improve Classroom Behavior in People With Down Syndrome: Within-Subjects Experimental Design. JMIR Serious Games, 10(2), e34373.
DOI Scopus14 WoS10 Europe PMC3
2021 Clark, R. A., Szpak, A., Michalski, S. C., & Loetscher, T. (2021). Rest intervals during virtual reality gaming augments standing postural sway disturbance. Sensors, 21(20), 6817.
DOI Scopus9 WoS8 Europe PMC2
2020 Szpak, A., Michalski, S. C., & Loetscher, T. (2020). Exergaming with Beat Saber: An Investigation of Virtual Reality Aftereffects. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 22(10), e19840-1-e19840-14.
DOI Scopus90 WoS73 Europe PMC28
2020 Saredakis, D., Szpak, A., Birckhead, B., Keage, H. A. D., Rizzo, A., & Loetscher, T. (2020). Factors associated with virtual reality sickness in head-mounted displays: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 14(96), 96-1-96-17.
DOI Scopus658 WoS565 Europe PMC258
2019 Michalski, S. C., Szpak, A., & Loetscher, T. (2019). Using virtual environments to improve real-world motor skills in sports: a systematic review. Frontiers in Psychology, 10(SEP), 1-9.
DOI Scopus80 WoS72 Europe PMC33
2019 Szpak, A., Michalski, S. C., Saredakis, D., Chen, C. S., & Loetscher, T. (2019). Beyond Feeling Sick: The Visual and Cognitive Aftereffects of Virtual Reality. IEEE Access, 7, 130883-130892.
DOI Scopus91 WoS74
2019 Michalski, S. C., Szpak, A., Saredakis, D., Ross, T. J., Billinghurst, M., & Loetscher, T. (2019). Getting your game on: Using virtual reality to improve real table tennis skills. PLoS ONE, 14(9), 1-14.
DOI Scopus139 WoS104 Europe PMC38
2018 Saccone, E. J., Szpak, A., Churches, O., & Nicholls, M. E. R. (2018). Close interpersonal proximity modulates visuomotor processing of object affordances in shared, social space. Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics, 80(1), 54-68.
DOI Scopus13 WoS13 Europe PMC10
2016 Szpak, A., Thomas, N. A., & Nicholls, M. E. R. (2016). Hemispheric asymmetries in perceived depth revealed through a radial line bisection task. Experimental Brain Research, 234(3), 807-813.
DOI Scopus8 WoS8 Europe PMC6
2016 Szpak, A., Nicholls, M. E. R., Thomas, N. A., Laham, S. M., & Loetscher, T. (2016). “No man is an island”: Effects of interpersonal proximity on spatial attention. Cognitive Neuroscience, 7(1-4), 45-54.
DOI Scopus10 WoS8 Europe PMC9
2015 Szpak, A., Loetscher, T., Churches, O., Thomas, N., Spence, C., & Nicholls, M. (2015). Keeping your distance: attentional withdrawal in individuals who show physiological signs of social discomfort. Neuropsychologia, 70, 462-467.
DOI Scopus23 WoS22 Europe PMC16
2015 Szpak, A., Loetscher, T., Bastian, J., Thomas, N., & Nicholls, M. (2015). Visual assymetries for relative depth judgements in a three-dimensional space. Brain and Cognition, 99, 128-134.
DOI Scopus7 WoS6 Europe PMC4

Year Citation
2022 Szpak, A., Richards, A., Michalski, S. C., & Loetscher, T. (2022). Getting the Most out of Virtual Reality: Evaluating Short Breaks to Reduce Cybersickness and Cognitive Aftereffects. In Proceedings - 2022 IEEE Conference on Virtual Reality and 3D User Interfaces Abstracts and Workshops, VRW 2022 (pp. 533-537). US: IEEE.
DOI Scopus10 WoS6
2021 Ellison, C., Michalski, S., Loechester, T., & Szpak, A. (2021). Innovative vocational training using virtual reality for individuals with intellectual disability. In JOURNAL OF APPLIED RESEARCH IN INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES Vol. 34 (pp. 1211). WILEY.
2021 Ellison, C., Faulkner, P., & Szpak, A. (2021). Building capacity to participate in bike riding using virtual reality. In JOURNAL OF APPLIED RESEARCH IN INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES Vol. 34 (pp. 1302). WILEY.
2021 Michalski, S., Ellison, C., Loechester, T., & Szpak, A. (2021). Engaging people with Down syndrome in a virtual drawing task: An experimental study. In JOURNAL OF APPLIED RESEARCH IN INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES Vol. 34 (pp. 1354). WILEY.

Year Citation
2015 Szpak, A., Loetscher, T., Churches, O., Thomas, N. A., & Nicholls, M. E. R. (2015). Too close for comfort: The effect of interpersonal proximity on spatial attention. Poster session presented at the meeting of COGNITIVE PROCESSING. Rome, ITALY: SPRINGER HEIDELBERG.

Year Citation
2021 Michalski, S. C., Szpak, A., Ellison, C., Cornish, R., & Loetscher, T. (2021). Using Virtual Reality to Improve Classroom Behavior in People With Down Syndrome: Within-Subjects Experimental Design (Preprint).
DOI
2020 Szpak, A., Michalski, S. C., & Loetscher, T. (2020). Exergaming With Beat Saber: An Investigation of Virtual Reality Aftereffects (Preprint).
DOI
Date
Project
Investigators
Funding Body
Amount (AUD)
2025 Reconnecting to Country through immersive experiences. Stokes T, Szpak A, Kohler M, Taylor A, Niles, Joshua University of Adelaide (FAME award) $75,075
2024 Reconnecting to Country: Using virtual reality to improve the psychological wellbeing
of Aboriginal peoples.		 Szpak A, Stokes T, Kohler M University of Adelaide (Early Grant Award) $9,984
2023-2028 Augmented Reality to Improve Telemedicine Delivery and Wound Research. Fitridge R, McMillian N, Szpak Z, Loughry C, Worley P, Wingard S, Szpak A. Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) $2.2 mil
2020-2022 Improving telemedicine delivery for Aboriginal people with diabetes-related foot complications using Virtual and Augmented Reality (VR/AR). Fitridge R, McMillian N, Brown A, Morey K, Loughry C, Szpak Z, Jones S, Szpak A. Dept. of Health (Indigenous Australian Health Programme) $575,020
2021 Testing the Effectiveness of Virtual Reality-Based Training for Forklift Operation Safety Skills among Young People. Szpak A & Ahn S. Safework SA (Augusta Zadow) $14,500
2020-2022 Helping children with intellectual disabilities develop real-world life skills in virtual reality. Michalski S, Loetscher L, Ellison C, Billinghurst M, Szpak A, Lee G. Channel 7 Children's Research Foundation $39,026
2020-2023 Testing user experience methods for older vulnerable road users. Ahn, S, Lee G, Szpak A. Dept. of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications $156,237
2020 Wear to be Skilled Ahn S, Lee, G, Szpak A. UniSA (Project Launchpad Seed Funding) $21,768
2020 What aspects of Virtual Reality pose a real world risk? Szpak A, Loetscher L. UniSA (URIPA Mentoring and Seed Funding) $9,965
2018 Have we turned a blind eye to the aftereffects of Virtual Reality? Szpak A, Loetscher L, Chen C. UniSA (URIPA Mentoring and Seed Funding) $14,953

I am committed to delivering engaging, evidence-based teaching that equips students with the skills to critically evaluate and apply psychological research. Since 2023, I have coordinated courses in the Online Graduate Diploma of Psychology (Advanced) program. 

For the last three years, I have being a coordinator for Understanding and Synthesising Psychological Evidence (USPE) within the GDPA. This course develops students' competencies in literature searching, critical appraisal of research quality, evidence synthesis, review methodologies, and the interpretation of meta-analyses and meta-syntheses. As a Course Coordinator, I have led the redevelopment of the curriculum, including refreshing course content, updating assessments, and improving the online learning experience to better support student engagement and success.

I am passionate about developing the next generation of researchers and psychologists through research supervision and mentorship. I have successfully supervised several Honours and PhD students to completion, and I currently supervise Honours, Master's, and PhD candidates across a range of projects spanning immersive technologies, digital health, and applied cognitive psychology. My supervision philosophy emphasises collaboration, critical thinking, methodological rigour, and the translation of research into meaningful real-world outcomes.

Date Role Research Topic Program Degree Type Student Load Student Name
2022 Co-Supervisor Virtual Reality sensory rooms: creating a portable person-centred intervention for people with autism spectrum disorder Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Part Time Connor McCabe

Date Role Research Topic Program Degree Type Student Load Student Name
2020 - 2023 Co-Supervisor Use of immersive virtual reality to build capacity in people with intellectual disabilities Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mr Stefan Michalski

Date Role Research Topic Location Program Supervision Type Student Load Student Name
2026 - ongoing Principal Supervisor The Role of Cognitive Performance and Anxiety in Predicting Street-Crossing Behaviour in Older Adults Adelaide University - Honours Full Time Saeeda Jarfari
2025 - ongoing Principal Supervisor Fear in Focus: How Virtual Reality Shapes Attentional Responses to Threat The University of Adelaide - Honours Full Time Georgina De Battista
2025 - 2025 Co-Supervisor Investigating the Impact of Breathing Techniques on Cognitive Performance Following Physical and Cognitive Exertion in Virtual Reality The University of Adelaide - Honours Full Time Brooke Petrinjak
2024 - 2024 Principal Supervisor Testing the Effectiveness of Virtual Reality Feedback-Based Training for Forklift Operation Safety Skills Among Young People University of Adelaide - Honours Part Time Emma O'Brien
2020 - 2020 Co-Supervisor Demand effects in assessing virtual reality sickness University of South Australia - Honours Full Time Madison Bellchambers
2019 - 2019 Co-Supervisor Differing Levels of Immersion on Relaxation in Virtual Reality University of South Australia - Honours Full Time Sabrina Chou
2019 - 2019 Co-Supervisor When Virtual Reality Becomes Reality: Pushing Presence to the Limit University of South Australia - Honours Full Time Gavin Bell
2019 - 2019 Co-Supervisor Evaluating whether short breaks can reduce VR sickness University of South Australia - Honours Full Time Adan Richards
2018 - 2018 Co-Supervisor Learning Sports Skills in Virtual Reality University of South Australia - Honours Full Time Stefan Michalski

Connect With Me

External Profiles

Other Links