Dr. Sharan is a Postdoctoral Research Associate investigating human-machine communication and the social dimensions of emerging technologies. Her research is driven by a longstanding interest in how people think about, relate to, and are shaped by the digital world around them.
She was awarded her doctorate (April, 2025) at the Amsterdam School of Communication Research (ASCoR), University of Amsterdam, where she explored the Computers-Are-Social-Actors (CASA) framework to explore the psychological and social-emotional dynamics of human interactions with digital agents. Her current projects examine the role of social robots in emotional learning, the impact of emerging technologies on mental health, and how people develop relationships with conversational AI. Her research interests extend to digital wellbeing and mis/disinformation. Her work has been published in peer-reviewed journals and presented at international conferences.
Dr. Sharan is committed to interdisciplinary research and translating academic insights into real-world impact, as is reflected in her research stints. Beyond her research, she has extensive experience in the private sector. She is the founder of The Sarg Initiative, a social startup dedicated to mental health literacy through open access education.
Dr. Sharan holds a BSc (Hons) in Psychology from University College London and an MSc in Human-Machine Communication from the University of Groningen.
• Website: navyasharan.carrd.co
• Linktree: linktr.ee/navyasharan
• ResearchGate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Navya-Sharan
