Why a Design Laboratory at Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health?

People understand nutrition yet still eat poorly; science has proven the effectiveness of vaccines, but many people refuse to use them; people know they depend on natural resources but continue to destroy our planet. The conundrum of human activities and beliefs conflicting with their well-being has led the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health to create the Harvard Design Laboratory, or the “D-Lab.”

In the depth and breadth of its schools, Harvard provides an excellent environment for expanding Public Health ability to deal with the complexity of human behavior while advancing design knowledge for well-being. Design frameworks and methods are applied to address behavioral issues that improve public health. At the same time, design benefits from public health’s example in the rigor of its theories and evidence-based solutions, in its power in defining public policy, and in the ways it measures the improvement in people’s lives. Harvard benefits by having a new way of connecting its schools to one another through shared work.

Core Faculty

Patrick Whitney
Director
Short Bio

André Nogueira, Ph.D.
Deputy Director
Short Bio

Network

We are creating a network of collaborators interested in advancing knowledge at the intersection of design and public health. Some members are from the school of public health, some are from various schools at Harvard, and some are from different parts of the world.