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About Me | |
I live in Seattle and love the northwest. I like the trees, the
mountains, the water –the whole thing. I was born in Albuquerque,
NM, but I grew up in Portland, OR and graduated from Beaverton
High School. Then I moved to Seattle and got a BS in Informatics
at the University of
Washington. I’m currently a PhD student, still at UW, studying
Biomedical and Health Informatics (for more on that see What I Study
below or my Research
page).  One of the many reasons I love the northwest is the abundant plant life. I have fun taking pictures of the flowers and the scenery in Washington, and occasionally in Oregon. I also have a photography website at nikongal.com you can look at. Sometimes I even get to go camping or backpacking and always have tons of fun. There’s nothing like a couple bug bites and a little sunburn to remind you how much fun you had last weekend. This picture is Scott and I on Naches Peak Loop overlooking Dewey Lake, where we spent a weekend one summer. | |
Other Fun Websites | |
| Scott Saponas's
Photography Christopher Gooley's Photography | |
What I Study | |
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I find that when I meet people and tell them I am a PhD student in Biomedical and Health Informatics (BHI) that their next question is fairly predictable: "What is Biomedical and Health?... Informatics?" This is what I usually say: Informatics is a field focused on information problems. That means, very generally, we’re concerned with what information people need, where they get it, how they keep it and share it, and how they use it. We’re interested in understanding these information problems, and we’re also usually interested in trying to solve them. Often these solutions involve innovative technologies. The ‘Biomedical and Health’ part means we’re doing informatics research in those domains. For example, we are interested in making better computer systems in hospitals and making personal health records people can use to understand and keep track of what’s going on with their health. Within this domain, I am particularly interested in making these systems useful for the people who need them. It bothers me to hear people say things like "oh, I’m bad at computers" or "I hate this stupid machine, it doesn’t ever do what I want." They feel like they’re "bad users," but really we need to design better systems that fit their needs. To do this, I spend my time looking at the larger context of what people are trying to do and how an information system could help them achieve their goals. My perfect world would include unobtrusive computer applications that help people meet their goals. The medical and health world holds lots of exciting opportunities for this kind of work and I’m particularly interested in what we call "consumer health," which really means everyone and their individual health. My dissertation research is focused on understanding how people share health information with their social networks (friends and family) and how the technology we are designing (e.g. PHRs) should incorporate sharing features. I am also working on designing how those sharing features should look like in an interface so everyone understands what health information they’re sharing with others. During my dissertation research I am funded by an NIH Grant. Our grant research is about creating technology to help breast cancer patients manage their personal health information. To design this system, I am doing participatory design (PD) with breast cancer patients. My interactions with these participants have been rewarding and moving and I feel lucky that they have taken the time to help us design the system. The stories they have shared about their own experiences will stay with me. Of course the second question people ask is also fairly predictable, and that’s, "When will you finish?" Well, good news! My dissertation defense is set for June 1st. If all goes well, I will graduate June 2010. | |
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