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Biography
Rana Zadeh, M.Arch., Ph.D., EDAC, is an Associate Professor in the Department of Human-Centered Design, College of Human Ecology, and a Field Member in Systems Engineering, School of Engineering. Dr Zadeh is a member of the Internal Advisory Committee for Cornell Public Health (CPH), and the Einhorn Center for Community Engagement, and an Affiliate Faculty Fellow for Cornell Health Policy Center (CHPC) and Cornell Atkinson Center for Sustainability.
Dr. Zadeh directs the Health Design Innovations Lab (HDIL, affiliated with the Institute for Healthy Futures) at Cornell. Dr. Zadeh’s lab applies human-centered design, systems approach, and team science to facilitate and accelerate research and innovation in health and healthcare. The work conducted by Dr. Zadeh’s lab bridges the fields of business, engineering, design, human behavior and medicine to foster transdisciplinary partnerships for user-centered solutions to improve health, efficiency, safety, and quality of care.
Dr. Zadeh’s work includes the development of technological, educational, environmental, or policy-related interventions in close collaboration with researchers, practitioners, policymakers, and community members.
Dr. Zadeh’s team has pioneered the concept of "palliative design," a multidisciplinary approach to improving quality of life and managing pain and symptoms of individuals with chronic and advanced illness. Bringing together physicians, engineers, architects, programmers, and health administrators, this collective effort influenced U.S. national building policies and codes.
Dr. Zadeh leads the PRIME™ Sleep and Circadian Rhythms Program, which includes evidence-based educational and technology-related approaches to improve circadian rhythms for individuals with chronic and advanced illness. Dr. Zadeh’s team leads the HOPES program focusing on educational, technology, and policy-related solutions for enhancing medication adherence for community-dwelling older adults with dementia.
Dr. Zadeh works closely with multidisciplinary teams from science, engineering, and medicine to apply a user-centered approach to entrepreneurship, development, and market adaptation of novel solutions for healthcare fields. Dr Zadeh has served as an international consultant to global and national authorities, including the World Health Organization (WHO) on topics such as healthy aging and systems approach to healthcare.
Dr. Zadeh’s team is the recipient of the Innovation Incubator Award and the Novel Technology Award from the Clinical and Translational Science Center and Weill Cornell Medical College. Dr. Zadeh also received the Center for Health Design’s 2012-13 New Investigator Award for her high-quality research in evidence-based healthcare design and the 2013 Architectural Research Centers Consortium’s King Medal for innovation, integrity, and scholarship in environmental design research.