Papers
1
Total Citations
7
H-Index
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About
Maya Sappelli is a researcher at the intersection of artificial intelligence, cognitive science, and healthcare, with a primary focus on developing intelligent systems that support human well-being and self-management. Her key research areas include knowledge representation, ontologies, and human-agent interaction, particularly in the context of health behavior change. Sappelli is best known for her foundational work on the PAL project, which created an embodied conversational agent—a robot and its avatar—to help children aged 8 to 14 with diabetes self-management. This system, detailed in her highly cited 2016 paper (7 citations), integrates social, cognitive, and affective agent-based support, enabling child-agent activities that build essential knowledge, skills, and attitudes. The project also developed dashboards for caregivers, bridging clinical and home environments. Her contributions have been instrumental in demonstrating how ontologies can structure complex health behaviors and how empathetic AI can empower young patients. Sappelli’s work continues to influence the design of interactive health technologies, making her a notable figure in personalized digital health interventions.
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