Varun co-organized a workshop at the Annual Meeting of the Society for Psychophysiological Research

Varun was invited to co-organize a workshop on the challenges and opportunities with wearables at the 2024 Annual Meeting of the Society for Psychophysiological Research (SPR) in Prague.

Varun along with Dr. Lauren Bylsma from the University of Pittsburgh conducted the workshop titled, “From the Lab to the Real World: Challenges and Opportunities with Wearables.”

In this workshop, we explored the evolving landscape of ambulatory psychophysiology research, focusing on using wearable sensors for longitudinal real-world deployments, including integration of self-report data obtained from ecological momentary assessment (EMA). Participants gained insights into the best practices for designing and conducting ambulatory psychophysiology studies, including selecting appropriate devices, setting up sampling designs, checking the validity of the psychophysiological data, and making critical data analytic decisions. The sessions emphasized practical, hands-on approaches and real-world challenges, including data quality issues and the integration of multiple measures.

The workshop featured a didactic component covering theoretical foundations and best practices, followed by a hands-on component where participants used Python and interactive tools to analyze data from various wearable devices. This interactive workshop was ideal for researchers looking to enhance their understanding of wearable devices in psychophysiological research and to gain the knowledge and tools to address the challenges associated with real-world data collection and analysis.

Key topics included:

• Selecting and evaluating wearable devices for psychophysiological data collection in ambulatory settings
• Addressing data quality challenges inherent to wearable technology
• Integrating physiological data with other behavioral and self-report measures (e.g., EMA)
• Navigating the complexities of data analysis in ambulatory settings