Vitaliy Popov, PhD
Manage Your Profile
About
I am a tenured Associate Professor in the Department of Learning Health Sciences with a courtesy appointment at the U-M School of Information. I am also the Director of Learning Sciences and Technology for the Clinical Simulation Center at the University of Michigan Medical School. My background allows me to utilize evidence in education science, simulation-based training and learning analytics to understand how healthcare professionals can better work in teams and how we can support these processes to foster health care delivery. I completed my Ph.D. on computer-supported collaborative learning at Wageningen University & Research Center, in the Netherlands.
Links
https://www.vitaliypopov.com/
Qualifications
-
Postdoctoral research scholarUniversity of San Diego, San Diego, United States
2015 - 2017
-
PhDWageningen University & Research, Wageningen, Netherlands
2008 - 2013
Center Memberships
-
Center MemberCaswell Diabetes Institute
-
Center MemberCenter for History, Humanities, Arts, Social Sciences and Ethics in Medicine
-
Center MemberWeil Institute for Critical Care Research
-
Center Membere-Health and Artificial Intelligence Initiative
-
Center MemberInstitute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation
-
Center MemberAI and Digital Health Innovation
Research Overview
My research focuses on understanding how team function can be optimized to lead to better learning gains, performance, and healthcare outcomes. Current research projects are situated at the intersection of Learning Sciences, Health Sciences, Artificial Intelligence, and eXtended Reality. I am currently serving as a PI or Co-PI on several projects funded by the National Science Foundation ranging from applying multimodal learning analytics in teamwork in VR to understanding the mechanisms of joint visual attention in the operating room. I am on the Editorial Board for the Annals of Medicine Journal - Medical Education section.
Recent Publications
-
Popov V, Nguyen S, Ochoa X. Learning and Instruction, 2026 Apr 1; 102:Journal ArticleApplying multimodal learning analytics to naturalistic recordings of clinical simulations: Towards an accurate and scalable pipeline for automated feedback generation
DOI:10.1016/j.learninstruc.2025.102267 -
Gao H, Das K, Zhang L, Abouelenien M, Cole M, Cooke J, Popov V. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, 2027 Jan 1; 16997 LNCS: 31 - 42.ChapterVisual Attention is Not Memoryless: Higher-Order Sequence Modeling of TeamLead Gaze in VR Cardiac Arrest Simulation
DOI:10.1007/978-3-032-40581-4_3 -
Wang J, Natalie R, Hu K, Xu W, George B, Popov V, Guo A, Wang X. 2026 Sep 25; arXiv,PreprintSurgGaze: Implicit Calibration for Accurate Gaze Analysis in Operating Rooms with Wearable Eyetrackers
DOI:10.48550/arxiv.2609.25612 -
Wang J, Natalie R, Singleterry MD, Bellos F, George B, Sandhu G, Corso JJ, Guo A, Popov V, Wang X. 2026 Sep 25; arXiv,PreprintSurgGraph: Quantitative Laparoscopic Video Understanding via Geometry-Grounded Scene Graphs
DOI:10.48550/arxiv.2609.25651 -
Benedict MD, Inniss DA, Alesawy NA, Mantena N, Xu H, Popov V, Kantor T, Vercler CJ. Surg Innov, 2026 Aug; 33 (4): 371 - 382.Journal ArticleExtended Reality Applications in Plastic Surgery Residency: Why and Why Not.
DOI:10.1177/15533506251414954 PMID: 41483385 -
Glowski L, Grotewold N, Tomaka S, Danciu TE, Popov V. Advances in Simulation, 2026 Jul 28;Journal ArticleEffects of reflection-through-action on collaborative clinical reasoning skills in an emergency dental simulation
DOI:10.1186/s41077-026-00463-6 -
Das R, Lee Y, Moratti T, Sabatino S, Zabner D, Baby M, Becking K, Clements H, Brown M, Godwin A, Henderson T, Morkos B, Popov V, Kraemer D. 2026 Aug 23;Proceeding / Abstract / PosterMeaningful Failure: Transforming Academic Structures and Incentives through Personalization in Engineering Education
DOI:10.18260/1-2--60106 -
Richters C, Das K, Fischer F, Fischer MR, Stadler M, Popov V. 2026 May 12; Springer Science and Business Media LLC,PreprintTurning clinical reasoning research toward intervention: Validating a process model using VR simulation data
DOI:10.21203/rs.3.rs-9497414/v1
Featured News & Stories
DLHS Faculty Recognized Nationally for Advancing Team-Based Feedback Research in Health Professions Education
CSC publication featured as article of influence at 2025 International Meeting on Simulation