Dr Alma Cantu

Roles: Lecturer in Data Visualisation, MSc Computer Science Board of Examiner Chair
Research Group: NoVA
Email: alma.cantu@newcastle.ac.uk

Alma is a Lecture in Data Science in the School of Computing. She specialises in Data Visualisation, investigating human perception to improve visualisation of complex data.

Bio

Alma received a PhD in Information Visualisation from IMT Atlantique, Brest, France, in 2018. She was funded by Thales DMS France to investigate the use of immersive tools to analyse signal intelligence radar signals. After her PhD, she worked on Human Factors (2028-2019) to evaluate the perceptive advantage of shape-changing surfaces for touchscreen interaction in airliner cockpits at ISEA-Supaero and ENAC, Toulouse, France (engineering schools specialised in aeronautics and space). She then worked for Newcastle University (2019-2022) on the Mobilise-D project investigating visual solutions to explore mobility data.

Research Interest

Alma’s research interests are to improve the understanding of user perception to facilitate the acquisition of complex data. It includes investigating human perspectives processes in both on-screen or virtual environments (perception, motion parallax, ecologic design); improving the understanding of diverse user’s needs toward visualisation (patient involvement, participatory design); deepening the characterisation and representation of complex data (heterogeneous data, complex task); and evaluating the proposed outcomes (usability testing, quantitative evaluation).

Collaborations and Prospective Students

I am always happy to collaborate on my topics of interest, so please do not hesitate to contact me to discuss any of the subjects mentioned earlier.

Although I currently have no open PhD positions, I would be glad to explore funding opportunities if you have something in mind. If you are a self-funded applicant, you are welcome to reach out to me, or alternatively, you can have a look at the topics proposed by my colleagues here.

Publications

  • Bell, G., & Cantu, A. (2025). Dichoptic Opacity: Managing Occlusion in Stereoscopic Displays via Dichoptic Presentation. https://doi.org/10.1109/VIS60296.2025.00078

  • Lumsdon, J., Wilson, C., Alcock, L., Becker, C., Benvenuti, F., Bonci, T., van den Brande, K., Brittain, G., Brown, P., Buckley, E., Caruso, M., Caulfield, B., Cereatti, A., Delgado-Ortiz, L., Del Din, S., Evers, J., Garcia-Aymerich, J., Gaßner, H., Gur Arieh, T., Hansen, C., Hausdorff, J. M., Hiden, H., Hume, E., Kirk, C., Maetzler, W., Megaritis, D., Rochester, L., Scott, K., Sharrack, B., Sutton, N., Vereijken, B., Vogiatzis, I., Yarnall, A., Keogh, A., Cantu, A. (2025). Co-creating the visualisation of digital mobility outcomes: A Delphi-type process with patients. JMIR Formative Research. https://doi.org/10.2196/68782

  • Kirk, C., Küderle, A., Micó-Amigo, M. E., Bonci, T., Paraschiv-Ionescu, A., Ullrich, M., Soltani, A., Gazit, E., Salis, F., Alcock, L., Aminian, K., Becker, C., Bertuletti, S., Brown, P., Buckley, E., Cantu, A., Carsin, A.-E., Caruso, M., Caulfield, B., Cereatti, A., Chiari, L., D’Ascanio, I., Garcia-Aymerich, J., Hansen, C., Hausdorff, J. M., Hiden, H., Hume, E., Keogh, A., Kluge, F., Koch, S., Maetzler, W., Megaritis, D., Mueller, A., Niessen, M., Palmerini, L., Schwickert, L., Scott, K., Sharrack, B., Sillén, H., Singleton, D., Vereijken, B., Vogiatzis, I., Yarnall, A. J., Rochester, L., Mazzà, C., Eskofier, B. M., Del Din, S., & Mobilise-D consortium (2024). Mobilise-D insights to estimate real-world walking speed in multiple conditions with a wearable device. Scientific Reports, 14(1), 1754. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-51766-5

  • Keogh, A., Mc Ardle, R., Diaconu, M. G., Ammour, N., Arnera, V., Balzani, F., Brittain, G., Buckley, E., Buttery, S., Cantu, A., Corriol-Rohou, S., Delgado-Ortiz, L., Duysens, J., Forman-Hardy, T., Gur-Arieh, T., Hamerlijnck, D., Linnell, J., Leocani, L., McQuillan, T., Neatrour, I., Polhemus, A., Remmele, W., Saraiva, I., Scott, K., Sutton, N., van den Brande, K., Vereijken, B., Wohlrab, M., Rochester, L., & Mobilise-D consortium (2023). Mobilizing patient and public involvement in the development of real-world digital technology solutions: Tutorial. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 25, e44206. https://doi.org/10.2196/44206

  • Kirk, C., Kuederle, A., Mico-Amigo, M. E., Bonci, T., Paraschiv-Ionescu, A., Ullrich, M., Soltani, A., Gazit, E., Salis, F., Alcock, L., Aminian, K., Becker, C., Bertuletti, S., Brown, P., Buckley, E., Cantu, A., Carsin, A.-E., Caruso, M., Caulfield, B., Cereatti, A., Chiari, L., D’Ascanio, I., Garcia-Aymerich, J., Hansen, C., Hausdorff, J., Hiden, H., Hume, E., Keogh, A., Kluge, F., Koch, S., Maetzler, W., Megaritis, D., Mueller, A., Niessen, M., Palmerini, L., Schwickert, L., Scott, K., Sharrack, B., Sillen, H., Singleton, D., Vereijken, B., Vogiatzis, I., Yarnall, A., Rochester, L., Mazza, C., Eskofier, B., & Del Din, S. (2023). Estimating real-world walking speed from a single wearable device: Analytical pipeline, results and lessons learnt from the Mobilise-D technical validation study. https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-2965670/v1

  • Romijnders, R., Salis, F., Hansen, C., Küderle, A., Paraschiv-Ionescu, A., Cereatti, A., Alcock, L., Aminian, K., Becker, C., Bertuletti, S., Bonci, T., Brown, P., Buckley, E., Cantu, A., Carsin, A.-E., Caruso, M., Caulfield, B., Chiari, L., D’Ascanio, I., Del Din, S., Eskofier, B., Johansson Fernstad, S., Fröhlich, M. S., Garcia Aymerich, J., Gazit, E., Hausdorff, J. M., Hiden, H., Hume, E., Keogh, A., Kirk, C., Kluge, F., Koch, S., Mazzà, C., Megaritis, D., Micó-Amigo, E., Müller, A., Palmerini, L., Rochester, L., Schwickert, L., Scott, K., Sharrack, B., Singleton, D., Soltani, A., Ullrich, M., Vereijken, B., Vogiatzis, I., Yarnall, A., Schmidt, G., Maetzler, W. (2023). Ecological validity of a deep learning algorithm to detect gait events from real-life walking bouts in mobility-limiting diseases. Frontiers in Neurology, 14, 1247532. https://doi.org/10.3389/fneur.2023.1247532

  • Cantu, A., Micó-Amigo, M. E., Del Din, S., & Fernstad, S. J. (2023). Parallel Assemblies Plot, a visualization tool to explore categorical and quantitative data: Application to digital mobility outcomes. 2023 IEEE 16th Pacific Visualization Symposium (PacificVis), 21–30. https://doi.org/10.1109/PacificVis56936.2023.00010

  • Micó-Amigo, M. E., Bonci, T., Paraschiv-Ionescu, A., Ullrich, M., Kirk, C., Soltani, A., Küderle, A., Gazit, E., Salis, F., Alcock, L., Aminian, K., Becker, C., Bertuletti, S., Brown, P., Buckley, E., Cantu, A., Carsin, A.-E., Caruso, M., Caulfield, B., Cereatti, A., Chiari, L., D’Ascanio, I., Eskofier, B., Fernstad, S., Froehlich, M., Garcia-Aymerich, J., Hansen, C., Hausdorff, J. M., Hiden, H., Hume, E., Keogh, A., Kluge, F., Koch, S., Maetzler, W., Megaritis, D., Mueller, A., Niessen, M., Palmerini, L., Schwickert, L., Scott, K., Sharrack, B., Sillén, H., Singleton, D., Vereijken, B., Vogiatzis, I., Yarnall, A. J., Rochester, L., Mazzà, C., & Del Din, S. (2023). Assessing real-world gait with digital technology? Validation, insights and recommendations from the Mobilise-D consortium. Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation, 20(1), 78. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12984-023-01198-5

  • Gozzi, Z., Peysakhovich, V., Cantu, A., & Causse, M. (2022). Behavioral and physiological assessment of a virtual reality version of the matb-ii task: Proceedings of the 17th International Joint Conference on Computer Vision, Imaging and Computer Graphics Theory and Applications, 77–87. https://doi.org/10.5220/0010912100003124

📚 Full publication list on my Google Scholar profile

Funded Research Projects

£816,899 (Co-I) Innovate UK Eureka GlobalStars Japan 2026 funding for the project titled “Immersive Storytelling for a Spatial Retail Experience (ISSRE)”, 07/2026–06/2029.

£12,631.20 (Co-I) ESRC Impact Acceleration Account 2023–2028 Strengthening Partnerships Fund for the project titled “North East Data Network (Pilot Phase)”, 06/2024–06/2025.

€49,911,564 (Research Associate) Innovative Medicines Initiative 2 (IMI2) for the project titled “Connecting Digital Mobility Assessment to Clinical Outcomes for Regulatory and Clinical Endorsement (MOBILISE-D)”, 04/2019–06/2024.

Teaching

Data Visualisation and Data Handling (DSC8001), Data Science MSc – Lecturer

Data Visualization (CSC8626), Advanced Data Science MSc – Lecturer and Module Leader

Data Visualization (CSC8642), Advanced Data Science MSc – Lecturer and Module Leader

[past enrolment] Image Processing (CSC8628), Advanced Data Science MSc – Lecturer

[past enrolment] Project and Dissertation in Data Science (CSC8639), Advanced Data Science MSc – Lecturer and Module Leader

[past enrolment] Data Visualization and Visual Analytics (CSC3833), Computer Science BSc (3rd year) – Lecturer

PhD Students

George Bell
Since Jan. 2025

Hannah Kim
Since Sept. 2025

Academic Leadership Roles

Chair of the MSc Computer Science Board of Examiner, 2025-now

[past enrolment] Degree Programme Director of the Data Science MSc programmes of the School of Computing, 2022-2025

Academic and Professional Service

Conference Program Committee

Former Positions

2019-2022 | Data Visualisation Research Associate on the Mobilise-D project
School of Computing, Newcastle University

2018-2019 | Human Factor Research Associate on the AIRTIUS project
Department of Aerospace Vehicles Design and Control, ISAE-Supearo
Interactive Informatics Research Team, ENAC (Civil School of French Aviation)

2015-2018 | HCI Designer / PhD Student in Immersive Analytics
HCI Team, Thales Airborne Systems
LUSSI (Logic of Uses, Social Sciences and Information) Department, IMT Atlantique

Additional Resources

Project Pages

Tutorials

Talks

Data Vis for Complex Data
Okana – Lunch and Learn
28th of February 2025

PowerBI Workshop
Insight North East
19th of April 2024

Parallel Assemblies Plot: Data Visualization Dashboard to Explore Digital Mobility Outcomes
Mobilise-D Conference 2024
20th of March 2024

How do people want their mobility data over time visualized? Ongoing adapted Delphi study with patients
Mobilise-D Conference 2024
20th of March 2024

Data Visualization for Complex Data
Atom Bank
7th of February 2024

Parallel Assemblies Plot
IEEE 16th Pacific Visualization Conference
19th of April 2023