Contact
Gabriela Marcu
Associate Professor
School of Information
University of Michigan
gmarcu -at- umich.edu
Office: 5426 Leinweber Computer Science and Information Building
I am an Associate Professor at the University of Michigan School of Information. Previously, I was in the College of Computing and Informatics at Drexel University. I hold a PhD in Human-Computer Interaction from Carnegie Mellon University, and a BS in Informatics from the University of California, Irvine.
My research focuses on improving the role of technology in fostering social connection, building community, and helping people care for one another — with a particular emphasis on how collaborative technology can serve the needs of marginalized populations. My projects have focused on such areas as youth mental health, harm reduction, and trauma-informed approaches to health promotion. I work to increase the involvement of marginalized groups in design and deployment of technologies. My research has been funded by Google, the National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, Michigan Department of Health & Human Services, and Pennsylvania Department of Health.
I am also passionate about comedy as a source of connection. I created, produce, and host Extra Credit Improv, a monthly Ann Arbor comedy show bringing together academic researchers and improvisers.
The following publications represent my current research priorities. For all publications, please visit my Google Scholar profile.
Design of technologies for mental health and wellbeing
Adolescent Perspectives on How Social Connectedness Is Enacted in Their Local Communities: Implications for the Design of Technologies to Promote Individual and Collective Wellbeing, ACM Transactions on Computing for Healthcare [link]
What do we mean by social support? A systematic review of HCI research investigating and designing for social support, CHI 2026 [link]
Social Connectedness as a Focus for Designing Technologies in Support of Mental Health, ECSCW 2024 [pdf]
Attachment-Informed Design: Digital Interventions That Build Self-Worth, Relationships, and Community in Support of Mental Health, DIS 2023 [pdf] Best Paper Award
Toward Trauma-Informed Design of Behavioral Interventions: A Case Study on Classroom Management, ECSCW 2022 [pdf]
Community-driven technological interventions
Meeting People Where They Are: Building Community-Centered Care with Smartphone-Facilitated Response to Overdoses, GROUP 2025 [pdf] Best Paper Honorable Mention
“Would I Feel More Secure With a Robot?”: Understanding Perceptions of Security Robots in Public Spaces, PACM CSCW 2023 [pdf]
Acceptability of Smartphone Applications for Facilitating Layperson Naloxone Administration During Opioid Overdoses, JAMIA Open 2019 [link]
News and Travel
Mar 2026 | Our paper was accepted to ACM Health: “Adolescent Perspectives on How Social Connectedness Is Enacted in Their Local Communities: Implications for the Design of Technologies to Promote Individual and Collective Wellbeing” [link]
Jan 2026 | Our paper was accepted to CHI 2026: “What do we mean by social support? A systematic review of HCI research investigating and designing for social support” [link]
Nov 2025 | My collaborators and I received a gift from Google to pursue the project “Help-Seeking by LGBTQ+ Survivors of Intimate Partner Violence to Improve Digital Safety”
Sept 2025 | I was promoted to associate professor with tenure
July 2025 | Attended ECSCW in Newcastle upon Tyne, UK