The National Science Foundation Division of Information and Intelligent Systems awarded The Johns Hopkins University $187,130 on October 1, 2025, under the Computer and Information Science and Engineering program (CFDA 47.070) to support collaborative research on flexible and safe disability representation in social virtual reality.
The project investigates how social VR platforms can support people with disabilities in expressing identity through avatars while mitigating stigma and risks associated with disability disclosure. The research team will engage people with disabilities through co-design work to develop design guidelines for inclusive disability expression, theoretical models of risks in social VR environments, and technologies and toolkits to mitigate those risks. The project addresses two primary research questions: how to support flexible disability representation without causing misconceptions or triggering stigma, and how to define and mitigate risks caused by disability disclosure in social VR.
The award period runs from October 1, 2025, through January 31, 2027. Performance takes place in Baltimore, Maryland.