About me

I research and design products to meet user needs and business goals. My approach is fueled by experience in cognitive science & behavioral research. Before I was a designer, I got a PhD in Neuroscience and spent a few years as faculty in Psychiatry at the University of Michigan. My research specialty was brain imaging of neural networks associated with cognition & emotion.

Things I learned about design as a behavioral neuroscience researcher:
1. How to figure out which problem is important enough to solve, why it's important, and how to communicate it’s significance to an interested audience and to decision-making stakeholders

2. Which questions to ask to solve the problem, and which answers are important

3. How to find the reasons underlying those answers, and how to relate those reasons to the problem being solved

4. How to turn observations into practical solutions 

5. How to supervise without authority, how to mentor as a manager, and how to collaborate when everyone has equal say

How does all that translate into being a designer?
I specialize in research and product design, and have broad training as a UX generalist. I deliver quality work across the UX spectrum, and always account for business strategy as well as user needs. My research skills really let me shine as a UX researcher & product strategist, and to understand the true value of product design, because a well-designed product has little significance if it’s not solving somebody’s problem.