Gabriel M. Santibanez, Ph.D.
PRODUCT MANAGER.
UX RESEARCHER.
STRATEGIST.
SCIENTIST.
With a scientific research degree and experience leading product design, my background is anything but traditional.
I'm a mission-driven Product Design Scientist who is passionate about human behavior, product discovery, and creating tools that help people make important decisions about health.
At my core, I am a strategist with a deep understanding of the intersection where business, technology, healthcare, and user-centered design meet. I provide a modern agile take on product development by combining a scientist's data-driven methods, with a designer's qualitative and empathetic emotional awareness, to craft product vision and create captivating patient- and healthcare provider-facing products.
MY METHODS
PRODUCT DESIGN
ALIGN
Collect stakeholder and business needs. Explore user pains, needs, preferences, and opinions. Empathize. Blueprint workflows. Discover opportunities for impact through partnerships. Inspire change.
DESIGN
Champion user needs and workflow contexts. Reinforce users' values. Combine data and insights with gut intuition. Maximize value, usability, and feasibility. Aim for delight.
DEFINE
Ruthlessly prioritize. Validate user needs. Set target outcomes and behaviors. Set realistic product and business goals. Test hypotheses like a scientist. Create vision.
REFINE
Test prototypes with real people against real problems. Explore all possible scenarios and use cases. Use performance indicators to make strategic decisions. Iterate and improve.
CAREER PATH
2015-2017
PARTNERS CONNECTED HEALTH - HARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL
PRODUCT MANAGER - RESEARCH FELLOW
Led the design and build of patient and provider-facing digital tools for chronic disease management. Designed, implemented, and led digital health user research program.
2014-2015
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN ROSS SCHOOL OF BUSINESS
& SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH
VISITING STUDENT
Graduate-level coursework in Healthcare Policy and Informatics, Innovation, Business Strategies in Healthcare, and Behavior change training.
2014
SEARCHLITE CONSULTING
BUSINESS ANALYST
Performed market research and created marketing strategy for market entry and commercialization of biotech innovations.
2017- Current
IBM WATSON HEALTH
SR. USER RESEARCH DESIGNER
Leading user and market research strategy for a platform that integrates multiple regulated medical imaging analytics AI portfolio offerings in Radiology for Liver and Prostate cancer detection, diagnosis, and management.
2010-2015
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN MEDICAL SCHOOL
DOCTORAL RESEARCH STUDENT
Led research strategy and experimental design, investigating obesity and T2 diabetes. Published data describing new relationships between fat tissue precursors and immune cells.
My product: a doctoral dissertation and 14+ publications.
2014-2015
INNOVATION IN ACTION @
SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH
CO-FOUNDER, PreLeaf diabetes prevention
Finalist at a University-wide public health innovation competition for nutrition solution based on culturally-competent behavioral coaching.
