Meet the DEXLab Team
Get to know the brilliant minds behind DEXLab. Each member brings unique expertise and passion to our research center.
Our Core Team
Nea Saarreharju is the DEXLab Manager and Research and Education Officer at SBE. Her background is in Educational Science and Technology, with a focus on VR- and AI-assisted language learning and instructional design. At DEXLab, she takes care of the day-to-day operations and contributes to the lab's many projects, in both research and education.
Nea Saarreharju
DEXLab Manager
Roberta Di Palma is an Assistant Professor in Educational Research and Development at Maastricht University School of Business and Economics and a co-founder of DEXLab, where she leads projects on digital and immersive technologies. Her research examines technology-enabled services in education and business, with a focus on virtual reality, including the role of feedback in VR-based presentation skills training. She holds a Bachelor's in International Business and a Master's in Strategic Marketing, both from Maastricht University.
Roberta Di Palma
Co-Founder & DEXLab Coordinator
Jonas Heller is a tenured Assistant Professor of Marketing at Maastricht University School of Business and Economics and co-founder and Scientific Director of DEXLab. His research examines how artificial intelligence, augmented and virtual reality, and other emerging technologies such as brain-computer interfaces shape consumer decision-making, service experiences, and well-being. He holds a PhD in Marketing from the University of New South Wales and has published more than 30 peer-reviewed articles.
Jonas Heller
Co-Founder & DEXLab Director
Tim Hilken is an Associate Professor in the Department of Marketing and Supply Chain Management at Maastricht University School of Business and Economics and a co-founder of DEXLab. His research focuses on the user experience of augmented reality in consumer and business markets, in particular the psychological mechanisms through which AR creates experiential value and improves decision-making. He also studies digital marketing and the role of virtual reality and artificial intelligence, and collaborates with technology providers and firms on lab and field studies.
Tim Hilken
Co-Founder & DEXLab Director
Dominik Mahr is Professor of Digital Innovation and Marketing at Maastricht University School of Business and Economics, Scientific Director of the Service Science Factory, and a co-founder of DEXLab. His work integrates research, education and business practice in marketing, innovation, digitization, strategy, services and design thinking. His research covers customer co-creation, service innovation and emerging technologies such as service robots, the Internet of Things and augmented reality.
Dominik Mahr
Co-Founder & DEXLab Director
The Interns
Intern of the DEXLab and a Master student at Maastricht University. He is currently pursuing a Master’s in Strategic Marketing and writing his thesis on how immersive technologies can be connected to real-world applications in marketing and education.
Ilias Massignan
DEXLab Intern
Intern at the DEXLab and a Master’s student at Maastricht University. She is currently following the Strategic Marketing programme and exploring how AI-generated fashion recommendations can influence consumers’ sense of self-expression and purchase intentions.
Yosune Uribe
DEXLab Intern
Intern at the DEXLab and a Master’s student at Maastricht University. He is currently following the Supply Chain programme and writing his thesis on how agentic AI can be used in procurement negotiations, while also contributing to projects investigating LLM use cases in education.
Wojciech Mandrysch
DEXLab Intern
Affiliated Researchers
PhD candidate in psychology at Maastricht University and the University of Antwerp, specializing in stress regulation and team performance. Her research combines wearable technology, psychophysiological assessment, and immersive environments. At DEXLab, she co-hosted the (De)Stress VR study, exploring how virtual reality can induce and reduce stress through tailored interventions.
Corinna Rott
PhD Candidate
Joana is a PhD candidate at Maastricht University School of Business and Economics (SBE). Her research focuses on the potential of immersive technologies in improving pension awareness and engagement by strengthening people’s connection with their future selves.
Joana D. Fernandes
PhD Candidate
Ibrahim Humdi
PhD Candidate
PhD candidate at Maastricht University SBE, in collaboration with Zuyd University of Applied Sciences, researching how immersive technologies shape consumer experiences in food service, hospitality, and retail. She is especially interested in the psychological side of immersive environments, including how they influence decision-making, perceived control, well-being, and the way consumers respond to service environments.
Paula Wodecka
PhD Candidate
Researcher focusing on VR- and AI-based training for oral communication skills. Examining how immersive environments and generative AI can support learners in practicing public speaking and workplace interactions with realistic feedback. She investigates how these technologies can enhance communication skills, build confidence, and improve training outcomes in both educational and professional contexts.
Anna Krispin
PhD Candidate
Marc Becker studies AI in service, with a focus on the social nature of human–AI interaction and what it means for consumers, employees, organisations and society. His work examines how expectations towards AI agents shift across service roles, from subordinates such as restaurant servers to coworkers, teachers and leaders.
Marc Becker
Postdoc, RWTH Aachen
Maarten is a PhD candidate at Maastricht University School of Business and Economics (SBE). His research explores how Artificial Intelligence is transforming procurement and buyer-supplier relations, focusing on how professionals interact with, trust, and adopt AI-driven decision supports and systems.
Maarten Ramaekers
PhD Candidate
Roman Briker is Assistant Professor in Organizational Behavior & HRM at WHU - Otto Beisheim School of Management.
He studies social dynamics at work with regard to time (pressure) and temporality, social and organizational hierarchies, and psychological reactions toward AI.
Roman Briker
Assistant Professor, OB & HRM
Alexandru Mariș is a PhD researcher at Maastricht University, specialising in immersive digital experiences. His research explores how marketers can strategically leverage technologies such as mixed and virtual reality, biometric sensors, and behavioural data to design meaningful consumer experiences.
Alexandru Mariș
PhD Candidate
PhD candidate at SBE. His research focuses on emotional and behavioral change using Virtual Reality, in particular how Virtual Reality can be used to increase empathy and understanding towards stigmatized groups of people or situations.
Stefan Bos
PhD Candidate
Alumni
Hoang Nguyen
DEXLab Intern
2025/26
