portrait of Isabela

Hi, I'm Isabela

PhD Student Researcher

I am an Informatics PhD student studying accessible computing and human computer interaction at the University of California, Irvine. I am passionate about research that makes an impact.


About

I am an Informatics PhD Student studying accessible computing at the Donald Bren School of Information and Computer Sciences at the University of California, Irvine (UCI) where I am advised by Dr. Stacy Branham in the INsite group.

My research interests include HCI and accessible and inclusive computing. In particular, I study how people with disabilities use or acquire technology while undergoing multiple life transitions such as aging or changing educational systems.

🎓 MS in Computer Science from UC Irvine

🎓 BS in Computer Science and Engineering from Santa Clara University (SCU)


Select Publications

(to appear) Where are the Disabled Students?: A Literature Review of Disability Inclusion in Computing Education Research

I. Figueira, J.M. Cisneros, J.L. Weber, W. Sanka, K. Phan, J. Wong-Ma, S.M. Branham.
SIGCSE TS 2026

Inspiring Blind and Low Vision High School Students and their Teachers to Access STEM in College

I. Figueira, J.M. Cisneros, J. Lindo, V.H. Luong, S.M. Branham.
RESPECT 2025
medal icon Exemplary Paper Award

Intersecting Liminality: Acquiring a Smartphone as a Blind or Low Vision Older Adult

I. Figueira, Y. Cha, S.M. Branham
ASSETS 2024
medal icon Best Paper Nominee

"Do you want me to participate or not?": Unpacking the Accessibility of Software Development Meetings for Blind and Low Vision Professionals

Y. Cha, I. Figueira, J. Ayala, E.J. Edwards, J. Garcia, A. van der Hoek, S.M. Branham.
CHI 2024

"If I'm supposed to be the facilitator, I should be the host": Understanding the Accessibility of Videoconferencing for Blind and Low Vision Meeting Facilitators

T. Akter, Y. Cha, I. Figueira, S.M. Branham, A.M. Piper.
ASSETS 2023

Smartphone Stories: Experiences of Blind and Low Vision Older Adults in Acquiring a Smartphone

I. Figueira, Y. Cha, J. Zhu, S.M. Branham.
DIS 2023


Media

From Grad Cohort for Women to ASSETS: How Mentorship and Community Helped Shape a Rising Researcher, CRA News, February 2025, Vol. 37/No. 2

Accessing STEM in Higher Education, UCI ICS News, July 16, 2024

Yes, People Who Are Blind Can Be Software Engineers: UC Irvine’s Accessibility Research Collective works to shatter assumptions and empower people with disabilities, UCI ICS News, July 17, 2023


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Let's Connect

i dot figueira at uci dot edu