Center for Health Design

Diabetes Design Initiative

Project Manager / Lead Researcher · 2 years

UC San Diego's Design Lab was founded by Don Norman to champion the application of human-centered design to real-world problems, and the Center for Health (C4H) is an initiative under it. During my two years at C4H as the Project Manager/Lead Researcher, I spearheaded the Diabetes Design Initiative to advance healthcare technology equity & innovation. Through collaborating with community, industry, and academia, we apply design thinking in building meaningful, impactful, and resilient experiences.

A packed travel medical kit holding diabetes and health monitoring supplies.
Designed and field-tested an AI-assisted medical pod on a NASA Haughton-Mars Project mission to improve healthcare accessibility

What I’ve done as a Project Manager

01.Build Industry Connections

Group photo of the C4H and Insulet UX teams under The Design Lab sign.
(C4H x Insulet Cooperation UX Team)

I lead company tours at UCSD Design Lab/ Health Futures Lab (our hub) to introduce our previous projects, effort, and future vision to seek potential collaboration.

02.Facilitate Class Projects

DSGN 160 Resilient Health Design class posing together in the studio.
DSGN 160: Resilient Health Design

Resilient Health Design: Co-develop community resilience through holistic service design

While serving as the TA for this class with Prof. Eliah Aronoff-Spencer, I co-designed syllabus, prepared hands-on activities, and provided feedback/critique for students’ work.

03.Host Design Workshops

Whiteboard covered in pink and blue sticky notes from a thematic analysis workshop.

In the techquity project where we probe diabetics’ interaction with their healthcare providers, we gathered qualitative data from interviews. To make the best use of our data, I organized a workshop for student researchers to practice hands-on thematic analysis.

04.Attend Conferences

Facilitator leading a hands-on design workshop at a diabetes summit.

Besides presenting my work at American Diabetes Association, I also helped facilitate design workshops at diabetes summits.

Reflection

Stepping into design felt like finding a space where my curiosity finally had direction. Along the way, I developed my research skills — but more than that, I found the meaning behind my work.

Practicing human-centered design in healthcare brought that meaning into focus. Being close to people’s health journeys deepened my empathy in ways I didn’t expect, and it shaped how I think about care.

That care extends beyond the individual, too. I believe healthcare is a collective experience, and I’m drawn to the ways design can make that system feel more human for everyone.