Research team

Professor Alan Petersen - Lead Chief Investigator
Alan is Professor of Sociology in the School of Social Sciences, Monash University. He specialises in the sociology of health and medicine, and his research spans the study of new and emerging technologies, the sociology of emotions, and gender studies. His work has been funded by the Australian Research Council, the Medical Research Future Fund, and the UK’s Economic and Social Research Council, among other sources. He has published many books and articles, with recent books including Engendering Emotions: Feelings and Affordances of Digital Media (Routledge, 2023), Handbook on the Sociology of Health and Medicine (Edward Elgar, 2023), and Pandemic Societies: A Critical Public Health Perspective (Bristol University Press, 2024).

Dr Barbara Barbosa Neves - Chief Investigator
Barbara is a leading sociologist of technology and aging, with a focus on the links between digital and social inequalities. Barbara studies the lived experiences of loneliness, isolation, and exclusion among older Australians living in aged care facilities and alone. Her research also explores the roles of artificial intelligence, virtual reality and robotics for social connectedness in later life. This work has been used to improve technology design for frail older people and to inform care practices and policy in Canada, Portugal and Australia. Barbara is a Senior Horizon Fellow on AI and aging at the Sydney Centre for Healthy Societies, The University of Sydney.

Dr Allegra Schermuly - Research Fellow
Allegra is an emerging sociologist of health and medicine in the School of Social Sciences at Monash University whose research focuses on the impact of digital technologies on effective communication and stakeholder engagement in healthcare, including how consumers use digital media to advocate for unmet healthcare needs and to combat isolation and loneliness. Her other key research area is the social and economic aspects of antimicrobial resistance. Allegra is the project manager and primary point of contact for research participants on this project