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A scalable B2B2C platform addressing clinical data fragmentation for the CDC's Global Travel EPiNet (GTEN) program
"I led the end-to-end design of this public health platform, transforming fragmented, manual workflows into a scalable digital system used across clinical sites nationwide. As the Founding Designer, I owned product strategy and UX execution — from research and system design to high-fidelity prototyping — working closely with engineers, epidemiologists, and stakeholders while mentoring a junior designer."
The Context: During the COVID-19 crisis, researchers and policymakers struggled to track disease spread across borders, contributing to over $16 trillion in global economic losses. In response, the CDC funded this initiative to modernize travel health surveillance and shift from reactive response to proactive monitoring.
The Core Problem: Patients, clinics, and researchers operated in disconnected silos, relying heavily on paper-based workflows and email or phone-based communication. This fragmentation led to high operational costs, inconsistent data, delayed reporting, and limited visibility into emerging health risks.
Designed the mobile app to remove barriers for patients.
The Problem: Patients, clinics, and researchers operated in disconnected silos, relying heavily on paper-based workflows and email/phone call communications.
The Pivot: I facilitated a cross-functional workshop to define a "Minimum Viable Data" strategy. We reduced required fields by 30% and deferred non-critical information to later stages of the travel journey, significantly improving completion rates while preserving data quality.
The Challenge: How do we collect reliable daily health data from travelers who may have limited time, poor connectivity, or low motivation?
Dynamic Logic: The survey dynamically adapts based on user input. Healthy users complete it in under 15 seconds, while symptomatic users are guided through a slightly longer flow (around 60s). Offline Resilience: All data is stored locally and syncs automatically once connectivity is restored, ensuring zero data loss — even during flights or in low-connectivity regions.
To combat survey fatigue, I reframed participation as a value exchange rather than data extraction.
Emotional Value: The "Digital Postcard" system turned daily check-ins into a lightweight, collectible experience.
Practical Value: The Syptoms Calendar and Travel Wallet allowed users to track symptoms, share records with clinicians, and access trusted CDC guidance before, during and after travel — significantly improving retention and perceived usefulness.
Malaria prevention involves multiple medications with complex schedules, making adherence difficult and error-prone.
I worked with clinicians to model the decision logic and shift complexity from the user to the system. Users now select a medication once, and the app automatically generates the correct schedule.
For researchers, value meant insight, not just collection.
Policymakers needed high-level trends to guide decisions, while epidemiologists and clinicians required granular data for disease monitoring and data collection tracking.
I designed a map-first dashboard that prioritizes situational awareness. Risk is visualized through a density-based model:
Bubble Size = Confidence , Color = Severity The KPI ribbon provides an instant read on overall data health, allowing analysts to identify emerging hotspots within seconds while still supporting deeper investigation when needed.
Status Update: The mobile app is live and actively used across 18 travel clinics. The dashboard is currently in development, with early validation complete and performance metrics being collected as part of the next implementation phase.
To meet strict MGH privacy requirements and support travelers with limited connectivity, I worked closely with engineers to define and design a Local-First architecture.