Toward Public Interest Technology

Rupa Valdez (Systems & Information Engineering, Public Health Sciences) will be in conversation with MC Forelle (Engineering & Society) about her interdisciplinary and holistic research on health equity, which lies at the intersections of systems engineering, public health, and community-based research.

Prof. Valdez’s research focuses on understanding and designing solutions that support how people manage health at home and in the community, drawing on methods from human factors engineering, cultural anthropology, health informatics, and related fields. Employing participatory and co-design approaches, she examines how social networks, physical environments, community resources, and information technology shape patient experiences, particularly among racial/ethnic minorities, people with disabilities, and under-resourced populations, and she also works on methodological development for research and teaching. Prof. Valdez has testified before Congress on bridging health equity gaps for people with disabilities and chronic conditions, serves as Associate Editor for Ergonomics and Journal of American Medical Informatics Association Open, sits on the Board of Directors for the American Association of People with Disabilities, and advises the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, the National Committee for Quality Assurance, and the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. She previously served on PCORI’s Patient Engagement Advisory Panel and is the Founder and President of the Blue Trunk Foundation.

Register here to receive a Zoom streaming link. A video of the interview will be shared on UVA’s PIT-UN website. 

This series is hosted by UVA’s chapter of the Public Interest Technology University Network (PIT-UN). PIT-UN aims to support people to study, build, and use technology to serve society. We thank the UVA Office of the Vice Provost for Academic Outreach and the UVA Office of the Vice President for Research for funding this series.