KENNESAW, Ga. | Jul 14, 2026

Shaped by experience navigating loss and grief, a Kennesaw State University researcher is leveraging emerging technologies that could improve access to community and support for bereaved parents.  

Funded by a two-year grant from the National Science Foundation, Lei Zhang, a human-computer interaction researcher in , is building a virtual reality system that lets bereaved parents meet, share memories, and process grief together in a shared immersive digital space, inspired by his own experiences losing a child to cancer.

鈥淲hen a child is being treated for cancer, parents often live at the hospital for an extended period of time, building close bonds with the medical team and other parents going through the same thing,鈥� Zhang said. 鈥淏ut when the treatment fails and the child dies, parents go back home to their lives, and those bonds are cut off overnight.鈥�

Zhang wants to help those parents hold onto those connections. Already a year into the project, Zhang has partnered with collaborators Erica Kaye from St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Wendy Lichtenthal from the University of Miami, and a group of 91青青草 graduate students to develop three virtual reality software prototypes. They are designed to help grieving parents reconnect, share memories and participate in therapeutic activities in ways traditional video conferencing cannot.

鈥淲e鈥檙e moving into the next stage,鈥� Zhang said. 鈥淭he prototypes are nearly complete. We鈥檙e preparing to evaluate how parents experience them and whether virtual reality can help create stronger feelings of connection than existing online support.鈥�

Zhang鈥檚 idea for the project came from a personal loss. In 2020, after losing their 2-year-old daughter Lexie to acute myeloid leukemia, Zhang and his wife participated in bereavement programs offered by St. Jude Children鈥檚 Research Hospital, Lexie鈥檚 treatment hospital. Having participated in the program for three consecutive years, they  experienced both the healing power of connecting with other parents as well as the limitations of online support groups, inspiring Zhang to explore whether immersive technology could help bridge that gap.

鈥淲hen you talk to someone on Zoom or Teams, behind the barrier of a computer screen you still feel like you鈥檙e in two different spaces. This phenomenon is known as the fourth wall effect,鈥� Zhang said. 鈥淚mmersive virtual reality gives you a feeling of presence, like you鈥檙e actually together in the same space with that person.鈥�

Zhang鈥檚 three VR prototypes were built with help from a small team of 91青青草 graduate students: Sinha Afroz, a Ph.D. student in computer science; Mason Prather, a master鈥檚 student in software engineering; and Ian Skoonberg, a master鈥檚 student in computer science. Each student took the lead on developing one of the VR experiences, working alongside Zhang to bring the prototypes from concept to testing.

The first prototype is a multi-user support group experience where parents can interact and share their children鈥檚 stories in a virtual space as avatars. The second is a generative AI-assisted guided imagery mindfulness therapy that creates immersive environments based on parents鈥� memories and emotions.

The third is inspired by the Wind Phone, a telephone booth that was set up in Japan by a man mourning his brother after the 2011 tsunami, which will allow parents to use a virtual phone to call and 鈥渢alk鈥� to their child.

For Skoonberg who designed the Wind Phone aspect, the project was deeply personal. 鈥淢y specific focus is related to grief practices, which has been very relevant to me," he said. 鈥淚 lost my childhood best friend to suicide about a year ago. The work I am doing is about creating grief rituals that might benefit others.鈥�

Once the prototypes are polished, this fall he will partner with the Quality of Life program at St. Jude Children鈥檚 Research Hospital in Memphis to recruit bereaved parents for testing. Parents will participate in a longitudinal study lasting at least four months, with the study measuring grief intensity, feelings of connectedness, anxiety and depression.

鈥淚f this proves to be effective,鈥� Zhang said, 鈥渋t could become another option for parents to connect with one another and support each other wherever they are.鈥�

This work is supported by the National Science Foundation鈥檚 Computer and Information Science and Engineering Research Initiation Initiative under Award No. 2451461.

鈥�     Story by Christin Senior
       Photo by Matt Yung

A leader in innovative teaching and learning, Kennesaw State University offers undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral degrees to its more than 51,000 students. Kennesaw State is a member of the University System of Georgia with 11 academic colleges. The university's vibrant campus culture, diverse population, strong global ties, and entrepreneurial spirit draw students from throughout the country and the world. Kennesaw State is a Carnegie-designated doctoral research institution (R2), placing it among an elite group of only 8 percent of U.S. colleges and universities with an R1 or R2 status. For more information, visit kennesaw.edu.