The Communication, Advertising & Society (CAS) research group is proud to announce that Diego Belfiore has been awarded a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellowship within the VoCS (Voices of Care and Support) project. The Marie Curie Actions are among the European Union’s most competitive and prestigious research funding programs, supporting scientific excellence and international collaboration.

His doctoral project, titled “Artificial Voices for Natural Communication,” investigates how prosody influences the perception of artificial voices by examining human brain responses through fMRI. The research focuses on hospitals that are beginning to incorporate social robots, autonomous entities designed to interact with humans in physical environments, into their care practices. In this context, the robot’s voice acts as a liaison between patients and staff, helping to reduce psychological distress.

The study will simulate medical interactions to test the hypothesis, supported by existing scientific literature, that more human-like artificial voices can foster effective, appropriate, and empathic communication. The project is funded through the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions within the VoCS project (www.vocs.eu.com) and is supervised by Professor Emma Rodero, who also serves as the communication coordinator of the VoCS consortium.

This recognition reinforces CAS’s international presence and its commitment to advancing innovative and socially relevant research in communication and technology.