XR Stories welcomes new team members

XR Stories has welcomed two new colleagues to its team of researchers, technicians, producers and professional support staff. Anastasiia Voronina joins XR Stories as Technician in Creative Technologies and Rosario Neyra joins as a Postdoctoral Research Associate.

Anastasiia joins XR Stories from the University of Creative Arts where she worked as a technical tutor and visual effects artist, running technical sessions and supporting motion capture shoots. 

In her role at XR Stories, Anastasiia is responsible for the day-to-day running of the project’s immersive technology research and development lab, working closely with Joe Rees-Jones, Creative Technician. Anastasiia will work with researchers, freelancers and businesses to support research, development and innovation in immersive technologies across academia and industry. Anastasiia will also work with colleagues to maintain existing strong links between XR Stories, the University of York AudioLab and CoSTAR Live Lab at Production Park.

Rosario joins XR Stories from the Centre for Advanced Studies in Language and Communication at the University of York. From 2023 to 2024, Rosario was part of the University’s Policy Associates scheme which led to a role on a project investigating policy engagement by academics in the Humanities Resource Centre. In 2025, alongside completing the final year of her PhD, Rosario joined the The York Policy Engine Creative Industries policy research group, led by XR Stories, to provide support with data gathering and analysis, events and research activities.

In her new role at XR Stories, Rosario will expand on previous activities to explore new avenues for the policy research group in collaboration with local government partners. Rosario will also support XR Stories and XR Network+ activities emerging from the Valuing Voices Research to Action project to advance team equity and inclusive research project design in the immersive technology industry.

Emma Brown, Deputy Director, XR Stories and XR Network+ comments: “I’m delighted to welcome Anastasiia and Rosario to the XR Stories team. Both Anastasiia and Rosario bring new knowledge and experience to our XR Stories team that is already enabling us to expand the support we provide across research, industry and policy.”

Published on 27 January 2026