Preetham Nagaraj

My name is Preetham Nagaraj, and I am joining the PhD program under Prof. Catherine Holloway. I hold a double master’s degree—an MSc in Computer Science from the University of Illinois at Chicago and an MSc in Human-Computer Interaction from UCL. Prior to pursuing academia, I worked as a UX designer for around ten years, gaining valuable industry experience.

My PhD, “Trauma-Focused Assistive Technologies: Design, Development, and Evaluation,” aims to develop assistive technologies to support trauma recovery in low- and middle-income countries. By integrating expert consensus, community insights, co-design, and usability testing, I aim to create culturally aware solutions that address trauma’s biological and psychological impact. Using methods like Adaptive Delphi, ethnography, and Human-Centered design process, the project seeks to bridge gaps left by existing approaches, delivering impactful, community-fit assistive technologies, with potential to reshape trauma care globally.

I look forward to the opportunity to collaborate and contribute to the research community at UCL.