PhD Student
Cornell University
Department of Communication
In the Media
2025-2026 Mellon/ACLS Dissertation Innovation Fellowship Press Release
A press release that announces my selection as part of the 2025-2026 Mellon/ACLS Dissertation Innovation Fellowship cohort, a program that supports "doctoral students in the humanities and social sciences as they pursue innovative approaches to dissertation research, including new methodologies, formats, and collaborations with community partners beyond the academy."
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Link to Full Press Release:
https://www.acls.org/news/2025-mellon-acls-dissertation-innovation-fellows/
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My Project Title: Cripping Time Across “Realities”: Technology-Integrated Storytelling through a Co-Curated Disability and Neurodiversity Arts Exhibition
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Project Description: ​“Cripping Time Across ‘Realities’” investigates the forms, parameters, and opportunities of disability arts and virtual reality (VR) storytelling through field research and a participatory disability and neurodiversity arts exhibition integrated with cutting-edge immersive technologies. Grounded in disability theory, the exhibition highlights authentic representations in collaboration with disabled and neurodiverse people in the local community. Drawing on perspectives from communication, feminist disability studies, computer and information science, art history, and museum studies, the project examines how art, immersive technologies, curators, artists, and visitors co-construct disability narratives.
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Link to ACLS Fellow Profile: https://www.acls.org/fellow-grantees/ria-gualano/
Podcast Interview:
"Seeing Me On the Screen"
"In this episode, Hannah chats with Ria Gualano (she/her/hers) who is a PhD Student in the Cornell University Department of Communication.
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Ria's research interests include accessible technology, computer-mediated communication, disability and neurodiversity arts, disability representation, higher education accommodations, inclusive avatars, invisible disabilities and virtual reality.
We chatted about the evolving landscape of disability representation, with a focus on the intersection of technology and media. Ria shared insights on the importance of inclusive VR avatars for people with invisible disabilities and how these representations can reshape perceptions of disabled people within mass media environments. We also delved into participatory disability and neurodiversity arts, exploring their impact on broader conversations about inclusion and accessibility and the future of accessible technology and media representation for disabled individuals."
Interview available on Spotify at:
https://open.spotify.com/episode/6KrVSmTRJqZIggPJ3LHbsa?si=bc0cca8da9714f5e
Cornell Graduate School Student Spotlight
A graduate student spotlight that provides an overview of my research and its implications, my thoughts on mentoring as co-chair of the MAC Mentoring Program, and my interests outside of research.
Read the article at:
https://gradschool.cornell.edu/spotlights/student-spotlight-ria-gualano/
Cornell Chronicle feature and interview:
"Art exhibition sheds light on invisible aspects of disability"
A snippet from the article's opening:
Ria Gualano knows something about invisibility. Being multiracial and living with an unseen chronic illness, she’s felt at times there were large swaths of her life few people knew or understood.
But one thing that helps is expressing herself through art.
Now Gualano, a doctoral student in communication, is giving others with disabilities in the Cornell community a chance to express unseen aspects of their own identities in an upcoming arts exhibition. “Invisible Aspects of Disability and Neurodiversity” opens April 25 from 4:30-6:30 p.m. and runs through May 3 in the Department of Communication, on the fourth floor of Mann Library.
Continue reading at:
https://news.cornell.edu/stories/2024/04/art-exhibition-sheds-light-invisible-aspects-disability
2024 Cornell Multicultural Academic Council (MAC) Public Keynote - Quote
A section from the article:
Helen Stec, a doctoral student in neurobiology and MAC Peer Mentoring Program co-chair, appreciated how Griffin addressed the many kinds of identity-based mentorship and the ways in which they can shape the future of mentoring.
This was an important takeaway for Ria Gualano, a doctoral student in communication and MAC Peer Mentoring Program co-chair, too. The holistic approach to getting to know a mentee and what they need from the relationship will be useful to bring back to those involved in the program, she said.
“It’ll be helpful for us to disseminate this information to our organization, because there are a lot of really talented, committed mentors who want to cultivate the best mentoring relationship possible with the students they’re working with,” Gualano said. “I appreciated being in the room and getting to experience this.”
Read more at:
https://gradschool.cornell.edu/announcements/griffin-acknowledge-identity-for-stronger-mentoring-relationships/
2023 XR Access Symposium - Voices of VR Interview
In June 2023, I traveled to the XR Access Symposium to lead a breakout session on Inclusive Avatars and present a poster on the preliminary findings of a study I am co-leading: "Expanding Inclusive Avatar Design: Understanding Invisible Disability Representations and Disclosure on Social VR Platforms."
Click the link below to access the poster session highlight featured on the Voices of VR podcast - my interview starts at 07:32!
#1226: Poster Session Interviews from XR Access Symposium 2023 – Voices of VR
Hopkins Hacks Interview (Part 2)
"In Part II of our conversation, Ria shares her thoughts on the importance of relationships and forming a support system while in grad school. From making friends to finding a balance between socializing and academics, Ria shares her experience in Adoremus, the Christian a cappella group on campus, that allows her to connect her faith with her music."
https://www.buzzsprout.com/2042196/12400653-ria-s-tryst-with-humanities-at-hopkins-and-beyond-part-2
Hopkins Hacks Interview (Part 1)
"In Part I of our conversation with Ria, we explore the education, Ph.D. route, and humanities at Hopkins. Ria is a Hopkins alumnus currently doing her Ph.D. at Cornell. In this episode, Ria shares her insights on finding your niche within the Humanities program, how to best use the resources available, and how to establish a strong network. Ria takes us through her journey of exploring beyond the Hopkins Bubble, about tackling personal insecurities and imposter syndrome, and providing valuable advice for fellow students facing similar challenges."
https://www.buzzsprout.com/2042196/12333506-ria-s-tryst-with-humanities-at-hopkins-and-beyond-part-1?t=0
