Education

University of Washington, Information School (Fall 2014 - December 2019)

Seattle, WA
PhD in Information Science
Advisors: Wanda Pratt, Predrag Klasnja
Dissertation Title: Designing Technologies to Support Patient Engagement in the Hospital

University of Michigan, School of Information (Fall 2009 - Spring 2011)

Ann Arbor, MI
Master of Science in Information, specializing in Human-Computer Interaction
Honors & Awards: Sharon A. Hogan Endowed Merit Scholarship

University of Pennsylvania (Fall 2002 - Spring 2006 BA, Fall 2006 - Spring 2007 post-bac)

Philadelphia, PA
Baccalaureate program in Classics
Bachelor of Arts: Linguistics major, French minor
Honors & Awards: Phi Beta Kappa, Summa cum Laude, University Scholar, Dean's Scholar Award, Adolph C. Gorr Delta Phi Alpha Prize

Work Experience

UX/Digital Health Researcher, University of Michigan Department of Internal Medicine

June 2022 - present | Remote from Seattle, WA

  • Used mixed methods (surveys, interviews, engagement metrics) to analyze engagement with a mobile just-in-time intervention (n=600). Led team in conducting study and analyzing data to identify requirements for a new app and new strategies for sustaining engagement that will be deployed in two projects.

  • Interviewed people with hypertension (n = 12) to identify key motivators and user needs for a medication adherence mobile app. Used findings to select tailoring strategies. Oversaw design of the intervention.

  • Used surveys (n=158) for concept validation of an affective physical activity intervention and won monetary award to present findings at an international conference. Conducting micro-randomized experiment (n=110) with surveys and interviews to evaluate efficacy and experience (in progress).

UX Researcher, Office of Research Information Systems at the University of Washington

April 2021 - June 2022 | Seattle, WA

  • Led end-to-end UX Research activities for complex grants management systems that manage multimillion dollar grants. Quickly ramped up on highly technical domain and used a comprehensive toolkit of methods including card sorts, interviews, iterative usability tests, and other methods to shape information architecture. Created a year-long UX research roadmap for a major overhaul of grants management systems.  

  • Iteratively created research plans and Figma prototypes to reduce usability errors in new grants management software. Reduced usability errors in one major process by more than 50%.

  • Set UX priorities with various stakeholders including developers, product owner, business analysts, and UX designer. Communicated methods, insights, and recommendations in presentations, personas, reports, and other artifacts. Used findings to collaborate with product owner and business analysts to prioritize features when scope cuts were needed.

You can read about one project here!

User-Centered Design Research Fellow, Seattle-Denver Center of Innovation, US Dept of Veterans Affairs

Sept 2020 - April 2021 | Seattle, WA

  • Redefined research goals of a major telehealth research effort to account for COVID conditions. Led diverse team in creating research plan and conducting research activities. (Publication forthcoming)

  • Collaborated on other investigators’ projects to define strategic foundational research directions, identify means of inclusive recruitment for studies, and train staff to conduct research activities.

Graduate Student Researcher, HCI/UX, University of Washington Information School

Oct 2014 - Dec 2019 | Seattle, WA

  • Led a 5-year mixed-methods rigorous, strategic research program from discovery to prototype testing to identify opportunities and design requirements for in-hospital systems to improve patient safety. Created research plans and conducted interviews, prototype studies, participatory design, and focus groups with clinicians and adult and child patients to uncover user needs and recommend specific design strategies for preventing medical errors. Authored reports and published findings in top-tier venues, with 900+ citations.

  • Used research findings and literature reviews to design and prototype several patient engagement interventions. Conducted mixed-methods study (n=35) to identify top-performing design approaches.

UX Research & Design Intern, Sage Bionetworks

October 2017 - December 2017 | Seattle, WA

  • Conducted foundational research for a mobile app for Parkinson’s Disease. Used interviews, storyboards, and prototype evaluation to shape product concept and identify foundational design requirements (n=23). Mocked up prototypes and communicated design requirements to key developers and designers.

  • Conducted usability study of e-consent process for enrolling in research studies. Increased task success in key consent step from 33% to 100%.

UX Specialist (UX Research & Design), University of Michigan Libraries

May 2011 - June 2014 | Ann Arbor, MI

  • Led and collaborated in multiple UX research projects to understand user needs for library online services. Methods included: interviews, usability tests, search query classification, analysis of web analytics data, and observational research. Conducted accessibility audits of library interfaces.

  • Designed several library interfaces, including a mobile website for HathiTrust Digital Library (an online book repository and reading interface with millions of visitors annually) and a new search home for the catalog.

User Experience Intern, Gale Cengage

May 2010 - August 2010 | Farmington Hills, MI

  • Conducted heuristic evaluations and usability studies of several different Cengage products and proposed design recommendations to product managers and developers.

Teaching Experience

Seminar: "Write the Good Write" (Fall 2018)

University of Washington, Seattle, WA
Supervisor: Wanda Pratt

My role: I created and led the seminar.

Course Description: Looking for ways to make more time for writing ... and get some insight on how to do it better? In this seminar we’ll devote time to both. In each session, we’ll spend 30 minutes writing or editing and 20 minutes discussing topics to make us better writers. We’ll choose topics based on your interests, for example: writing a paper vs. writing a blog post about your work; giving constructive criticism in editing; and the pitfalls of prescriptive grammar. Students will be expected to come to class with thoughts to share, stuff to work on, and writing-related puns. Students can either edit someone else’s work or work on their own projects during the 30 minute writing session. Get ready … them’s writin’ words!

Seminar: "Trust and Distrust in the Dr-Patient Relationship" (Fall 2016)

University of Washington, Seattle, WA
Supervisor: Wanda Pratt

My role: I created and led the seminar.

Course Description: This course is a seminar examining the role of trust and distrust in different aspects of the doctor-patient relationship and other health-related contexts. Topics range broadly depending on student interest, including subjects like patient use of health infomediaries and the nature of consent in genetic research.

Online classes: "UX Research Methods," "Universal Design" (September 2013 - April 2014)

Library Juice Academy

Course Description: These two courses were month-long online courses aimed at educating working librarians about different aspects of user experience. They were both required parts of a UX certificate program. I created and led the UX Research Methods class, and co-created and co-led the Universal Design class.