Rana Sagha Zadeh
Rana Sagha Zadeh
Associate Professor
Human Centered Design

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. 

Dr Zadeh teaches courses such as Innovations in Healthcare Research & Design, Workplace Design and Management, and Policy Meets Design. In these courses, students learn to apply Team Science, Design Thinking, User Experience Design, Evidence-based and Value-based Design, ethnography, entrepreneurship, and transdisciplinary collaboration relating to healthcare. 

DEA 6550: Innovations in Healthcare Research & Design

DEA4500: Policy Meets Design: High-Impact Facilities of the 21st Century

DEA 3550: Planning and Managing the Workplace: Evidence-Based Design and the Organizational Ecology

Systems Approach in Healthcare Innovation:  

  1. Zadeh, R., Capezuti E, Brigham MA, Dias BA, Kim BC, Lengetti E, Krieger AC. Online Education to Improve Palliative Care Professionals' Knowledge of Sleep Management. J Hosp Palliat Nurs. 2025 Feb 1;27(1):27-34. doi: 10.1097/NJH.0000000000001067. Epub 2024 Dec 16. PMID: 39680805. 
  2. Liu, Z. & Zadeh, R., Bridging Generations: An Integrative Review of Effective Intergenerational Educational Programs for Technology Integration for Older Adults. Submitted 2025 to Gerontology & Geriatrics Education a GSA journal.
  3. Lu, Y., Bishop, N., Zadeh, R. (2022) Lean design of the pediatric intensive care unit patient room for efficient and safe care delivery.
  4. Neo, J. R., Zadeh, R., Vielemeyer, O., & Franklin, E. (2016). Evidence-based practices to increase hand hygiene compliance in health care facilities: An integrated review. American Journal of Infection Control, 44(6), 691-704. doi:10.1016/j.ajic.2015.11.034
  5. Bishop, N. B., Osorio, S. N., Lee, J. I., Mahoney, M., Genow, B., Zadeh, R., Capezuti, E., Brown, S., Jean-Marie, S., & Mathieu, J. (2019). A Human Factors Approach to Central Line Associated Bloodstream Infection (CLABSI) Prevention and Safety Culture in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit Pilot Report. Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting, 63(1), 873–876. https://doi.org/10.1177/1071181319631537

 

Adopting Healthcare Environments and Processes for Aging Populations: 

  1. WHO. (Jan 2021). Decade of healthy ageing: baseline report. Geneva: World Health Organization. ISBN: 9789240017900 https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240017900 (Based on my work contribution during research sabbatical in 2020, I am 1 of the 13 Principal Authors)
  2. Zadeh, R. (2024) revision for 7th edition, Environmental approaches to support aging friendly care. Boltz, M., Capezuti, E., Zwicker, D., & Fulmer, T. (Eds.). Evidence-Based Geriatric Nursing Protocols for Best Practice, 6th ed. New York: Springer Publishing Company.
  3. Charles, S. Röcke, C., Scholz, U, Zadeh, R. (2021) The Importance of Person and Environment Interactions in Daily Life for Healthy Aging. Manuscript prepared for a special issue on motivation and healthy aging in Journals of Gerontology, Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences.
  4. Zacher, H., Sagha Zadeh, R., Heckhausen, J.& Oettingen, G. (2021). Promotion of Healthy Aging at Work: Desiderata for Future Research and Practice, Manuscript prepared for a special issue on motivation and healthy aging in Journals of Gerontology, Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences.

 

Pain & Symptom Management for critically ill patients:

  1. Eshelman, P.,  Zadeh, R., Setla, J., & Krieger, A. (2017). Designing End-of-Life Care Setting to Enhance Quality of Life: A Cornell University Report. Washington, DC: Facility Guidelines Institute.  https://www.fgiguidelines.org/resource/designing-end-life-care-settings-enhance-quality-life/
  2.  Zadeh, R., & Eshelman, P. (2019). "Palliative design" meets "palliative medicine": A strategic and judicious approach to the design, construction, and operation of healthcare facilities to improve quality of life and minimize suffering for patients, their families, and their caregivers. HERD: Health Environments Research & Design Journal.
  3. Eshelman, P., Zadeh, R., Setla, J., & Krieger, A. (2015, January 20). Designing end-of-life care setting to enhance quality of life: Informing the conversation among designers, users, and stakeholders. Submitted to Hospice of Central New York, Hospicare of Tompkins County, Francis House End of Life Home, and Cayuga Medical Center’s Palliative Care Program.
  4. Zadeh, R. (2019, June). Designing the Patient and Family Experience of Palliative Care in Tompkins and Cortland Counties: A Multidisciplinary Systems Approach. Submitted to Tompkins and Cortland County network of providers.

 

Evidence-based and Value-based Design:  

  1. Zadeh, R., Sadatsafavi, H., & Xue, R. (2015). Evidence-based and value-based decision making about healthcare design: an economic evaluation of the safety and quality outcomes. HERD: Health Environments Research & Design Journal, 8(4), 58-76. doi:10.1177/1937586715586393.
  2. Sadatsafavi, H., Niknejad, B.,  Zadeh, R., & Sadatsafavi, M. (2016). Do cost savings from reductions in nosocomial infections justify additional costs of single-bed rooms in intensive care units? A simulation case study. Journal of Critical Care, 31(1), 194-200. doi:10.1016/j.jcrc.2015.10.010.

     

     

 

 

Zadeh is a founding member of the Nursing Institute for Healthcare Design. Zadeh served as a member of the Center for Health Design’s Research Coalition, and a grant reviewer for the New Investigator Award for 7 years, and served on the CHD’s Behavioral Health, and volunteer on CHD’s the Agency for Healthcare Research Quality’s project to create a risk assessment tool for patient safety. Zadeh is an associate member of American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers, and a member and former president of a student chapter of the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America. Zadeh’s professional activities go beyond research and volunteerism and has involved service learning projects for community members including Hospicare of Tompkins County, End –of-Life Care Residence (2013- current), New York Presbyterian Hospital (Spring 2015,16,18), Brigham & Women’s Hospital and CAMA Inc. (spring 2014), Cayuga Medical Center (Fall 2013,Spring 2014,Spring 2017) and Hoag Healthcare (Spring 2013).

2012, Ph.D., Architecture, Health Systems & Design, Texas A&M Univ., College Station

2005, M.Arch. , Architecture, Art & Architecture-Azad Univ.

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