Doga Demirel

Associate Professor and Associate Director

Email: doga@ou.edu
Office: Devon Energy Hall Room 241

Education
Ph.D., Integrated Computing (Computer Science)
University of Arkansas, Little Rock
M.Sc., Applied Computing (Computer Science)
University of Central Arkansas
B.Sc., Computer Science
University of Arkansas, Little Rock

Research Focus

Design, development, and validation of surgical simulators
Interactive Simulations
Extended Reality
Human-Computer Interaction
Computer Graphics
Haptics
Artificial Intelligence

Experience and Awards

Associate Director, University of Oklahoma (2025-Present)
Associate Professor, University of Oklahoma (2024-Present)
Director, Virtual Reality, Interactive Simulation, and Biomedical (VRISB) Lab
Associate Professor, Florida Polytechnic University (2023-2024)
Assistant Chair, Computer Science, Florida Polytechnic University (2021-2024)
Assistant Professor, Florida Polytechnic University (2019-2023)
IEEE VR The 3rd International Workshop on eXtended Reality for Industrial and Occupational Supports (XRIOS) Best Paper Award, 2024
IEEE 23rd International Conference on Bioinformatics and Bioengineering (BiBE) Best Paper Award, 2023
American College of Gastroenterology Presidential Poster Award, 2023
American College of Gastroenterology Best Abstract in Obesity category, 2023
Florida Polytechnic University Award for Excellence in Research, 2022
Consultant, Senior Software Engineer, AVRA Medical Robotics Inc., 2022
Industrial Engineering and Operations Management (IEOM) Outstanding Service Award, 2022
International Conference on Information System and Data Mining (ICISDM) Best Track paper, 2022
Conference Co-Chair, Industrial Engineering and Operation Management Conference (IEOM) North America 2022 Conference. Theme: “Industrial Engineering, Operations Management and Data Science for Industry Innovation and Emerging Trends”, 2022
23rd International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction - Learning and Collaboration Technologies/ S257: STEM Learning, 2021

Biography

Dr. Doga Demirel is an Associate Professor and the Director of the Virtual Reality, Interactive Simulation, and Biomedical (VRISB) Lab in the School of Computer Science at the University of Oklahoma. Dr. Demirel received his Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock in 2018, an M.Sc. in Applied Computing from the University of Central Arkansas in 2015, and a B.Sc. in Computer Science from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock in 2013.

Dr. Demirel’s research interests lie in designing, developing, assessing, and utilizing real-time medical and interactive simulations. Within this domain, he leverages various technologies such as computer graphics (including Virtual Reality), Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Software Engineering, and Human-Computer Interaction (including Haptics) to enhance the field of medical simulation and interactive experiences. He has published over 60 papers in reputable international journals and conferences. In 2022, Dr. Demirel received the Excellence in Research award from Florida Polytechnic University. He recently received best paper awards at the 2023 IEEE International Conference on Bioinformatics and Bioengineering (BiBE) and the 2024 IEEE VR International Workshop on eXtended Reality for Industrial and Occupational Support (XRIOS).

Selected Projects

National Institutes of Health / National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, “Enhancing robotic head and neck surgical skills using stimulated simulation”, Collaborators: FAMU-FSU College of Engineering, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, ≈$3M, April 2023 -March 2027.
National Institutes of Health / National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, “Physically Realistic Virtual Surgery”, Collaborators: FAMU-FSU College of Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, ≈$2.4M, March 2020 - January 2025.
National Institutes of Health / National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, “Development and Validation of a Virtual Bariatric Endoscopic (ViBE) Simulator”, Collaborators: FAMU-FSU College of Engineering, Indiana University School of Medicine, ≈$1.64M, September 2022 – June 2025.
National Institutes of Health / National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, “Development and Validation of a Virtual Colorectal Surgical Trainer (VCOST)”, Collaborators: FAMU-FSU College of Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, University of Texas Southwestern, ≈$3M, July 2018 - April 2024.
National Institutes of Health / National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, “Physically Realistic Virtual Surgery (Supplement)”, Collaborators: FAMU-FSU College of Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, University of Central Arkansas, ≈$655k, December 2020 - December 2022.
National Institutes of Health / National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, “Development and Validation of a Virtual Laparoscopic Hiatal Hernia Simulator (VLaHHS)”, Collaborators: University of Texas Southwestern, ≈$2.4M, June 2019 – July 2025.
National Institutes of Health / National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, “Virtual Rotator Cuff Arthroscopic Skill Trainer (ViRCAST), Collaborators: Kitware Inc., University of Central Arkansas, ≈$1.7M, September 2019 – September 2021.
National Institutes of Health / National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, “Development and Validation of a Virtual Bariatric Endoscopic (ViBE) Simulator”, Collaborators: FAMU-FSU College of Engineering, Indiana University School of Medicine, ≈$750k, September 2019 – September 2020.

Selected Publications

*Denotes students/research assistants under the supervision of Dr. Demirel

G. Westergaard*, M. Ellis*, J. Barker*, S.G. Palacios, A. Desir, G. Sankaranarayanan, S. De, D. Demirel, "Real-time haptic-based soft body suturing in virtual open surgery simulations", Computers & Graphics, 104507, 2025. doi.org/10.1016/j.cag.2025.104507
Y. Kakdas*, S. De, D. Demirel, "Graph Neural Networks for Realistic Bleeding Prediction in Surgical Simulators", Journal of Imaging Informatics in Medicine, 2025. doi.org/10.1007/s10278-025-01635-y
Y. Kakdas*, S. Kockara, T. Halic, D. Demirel, “Enhancing Medical Training through Learning from Mistakes by Interacting with an Ill-trained Reinforcement Learning Agent,” IEEE Transactions on Learning Technologies, vol. 17, pp. 1248-1260, 2024, doi.org/10.1109/TLT.2024.3372508
D. Demirel, D. Sezer, S. G. Palacios, G. Westergaard, M.Ellis, A.Desir, J. S. Pogacnik, G. Sankaranarayanan, S. De, “Simulating End-to-End Hand-Sewn and Stapled Anastomosis in a Virtual Colorectal Surgical Trainer,” 2026 IEEE Conference on Virtual Reality and 3D User Interfaces Abstracts and Workshops (VRW), 2026, pp. 936-943, doi.org/10.1109/VRW70859.2026.00173
U.Erden*, O.Toker, M.A. Gromski, S. De, D. Demirel, "Design and Development of a Real-Time Virtual Bariatric Endoscopic Simulator with Haptic Feedback", ACM Transactions on Sensor Networks, 2025. doi.org/10.1145/3747184
G. Westergaard*, A. Desir, J. Barker*, T. Halic, S.R. Hegde, A. Al Abbas, J.S. Pogacnik, J.W. Fleshman, G. Sankaranarayanan, S. De, D. Demirel, "Validity of a virtual reality-based straight coloanal anastomosis simulator", International Journal of Computer Assisted Radiology and Surgery, 2024. doi.org/10.1007/s11548-024-03291-z
U. Erden*, M.A. Gromski, S. De, D. Demirel, "Preliminary Validation of the Virtual Bariatric Endoscopic Simulator", iGIE, 2024, doi.org/10.1016/j.igie.2024.08.003
(Best Paper Award) Y. Kakdas*, D. Demirel, J. Barker*, T. Halic, J. Keane, J. Mitchell, S. Jones, D.B. Jones, S. De, C. Jackson, “Virtual Reality-Based Donning and Doffing Simulator,” 2024 IEEE Conference on Virtual Reality and 3D User Interfaces Abstracts and Workshops (VRW), 2024, pp. 214-222, doi.org/10.1109/VRW62533.2024.00043
J. Dials*, D. Demirel, R. Sanchez-Arias, T. Halic, S. De, M. Gromski, “Endoscopic Sleeve Gastroplasty: Location and Task Classification for Evaluation Using Artificial Intelligence,” International Journal of Computer Assisted Radiology and Surgery, 2024. doi.org/10.1007/s11548-023-03054-2
J. Dials*, D. Demirel, R. Sanchez-Arias, T. Halic, U. Kruger, S. De, M. Gromski, “Skill Level Classification and Performance Evaluation for Endoscopic Sleeve Gastroplasty,” Surgical Endoscopy, 4754–4765, 2023, doi.org/10.1007/s00464-023-09955-2
(Best Paper Award) A. Dendukuri, M. Tunc, D. Demirel, S. Kockara, T. Halic, “Unified Framework for real-time fluid simulation in Virtual Rotator Cuff Arthroscopic Skill Trainer (VIRCAST)”, 2023 IEEE 23rd International Conference on Bioinformatics and Bioengineering (BIBE), 2023, pp. 346-353, doi.org/10.1109/BIBE60311.2023.00063
D. Demirel, H.O. Keles, C. Modak*, K. K. Basturk, T. Halic, “Multimodal Approach to Assess a Virtual Reality-based Surgical Training Platform,” 25th International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction, 430-440, 2023, doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-35634-6_30