Hi there! My name is Gabriel and I'm a Product Design Scientist based in Boston, MA.  

For me, the road from the laboratory to my current work in health+tech has been an adventure in self-discovery. In 2012 while I was working on my Ph.D. in type 2 diabetes research, I developed a deep curiosity in the gaps between science and human behavior, and why there were so many barriers and costly inefficiencies in our healthcare system. Being attracted to complex problems, I developed a keen awareness for the immediate need to bring healthcare delivery and consumerism to our modern age of technology and experience design. To bridge my scientific training with the current political and business climate, I decided to enroll in grad-level coursework on healthcare business strategies, healthcare informatics, policy, and even gain unique training in behavioral psychology. After completing my Ph.D., and after many healthcare innovation hackathons, I had found my purpose - and so I made the choice to join the movement to modernize healthcare and create a real and immediate impact on the lives of healthcare providers, patients, and caregivers alike. 

That road brought me to Partners Connected Health Innovations, as part of the Partners HealthCare system in Boston, MA. Together with design, development, and clinical research teams, I led the design, build, and validation of meaningful, delightful, user-centered digital products that help eliminate barriers of disease management (see extended resume below). There, I gained deep, valuable exposure to real-life challenges in business development, FDA and policy compliance, and implementation of new technologies in healthcare systems. 

Developing high quality products requires a strong sense of empathy, strategy, and ability to wear all the hats. To that end,  I've consulted global Fortune 500 medical device and pharmaceutical organizations on digital innovation strategy. I've interviewed 30+ patients and 30+ healthcare providers and led focus groups to understand pain points, unmet needs, and map out clinical workflows. I've held learning sessions for behavior change strategy and helped others understand FDA regulatory oversight. I've taught  innovation design frameworks to healthcare providers. In the work I'm most proud of, I've led designers and engineers in the build an innovative multi-medical device, multi-user, cross-platform, type-2 diabetes management tool that is currently undergoing clinical evaluation for impact on health outcomes. Now at IBM Watson Health, and with a keen eye for user experience design, I'm helping empower healthcare providers with assistance in disease detection using emerging technologies like artificial intelligence and machine learning.

When I'm not at the whiteboard connecting dots, you'll find me in the laboratory (my kitchen) conducting "experiments" with food, probably jamming out to a Dvorak string quartet. 

Gabriel M. Santibanez, Ph.D.

PRODUCT MANAGER

SCIENTIST

STRATEGIST

"If you want to build a ship, don't drum up the men to gather wood, divide the work and give orders. Instead, teach them to yearn for the vast and endless sea."

- Antoine de Saint Exupéry

SR. USER RESEARCHER

IBM Watson Health, Medical Imaging. Cambridge, MA. 2017-Current

• work closely with offering management to identify business opportunities

• lead primary and secondary research with medical imaging professionals to inform product discovery and develop business models

• mentor and coach UX and visual designers
   

RESEARCH FELLOW, PRODUCT MANAGER

Partners Connected Health Innovations (Partners Healthcare). Boston, MA. 2015-2017

• led design of a T2 diabetes remote monitoring platform currently undergoing clinical evaluation with 65 patients. Includes patient app with integrated IoT prototype, wearable, and glucometer and EMR-integrated healthcare provider-facing portal  

• created, implemented, and supervised market and user research strategy to collect needs and requirements, leading 40+ interviews and evaluation of medical and IoT devices

• created business and market insight reports and presentations for Fortune 500 clients for consulting engagements

• served as Technical Product Owner, created user stories, groomed backlog, set sprint priorities, managed QA testing (JIRA)

• launched a fellowship program of healthcare providers to coach them on design thinking and product design strategies to help them develop their own digital health solutions

Certifications: 

- Product Management Bootcamp, General Assembly 2016

- Certified Scrum Master (CSM), Scrum, Inc. 

CO-FOUNDER, PRODUCT DESIGN

MIT Hacking Medicine Startup, Hey Charlie. Cambridge, MA. 2016    

Winner of the Award: Best Mental Health Hack ($20K in seed funding to date)

• led design thinking and user research for digital tool to help those struggling with opioid dependency meet social needs and transition social environments

• team selected for the first cohort for digital health accelerator PULSE@MassChallenge

DOCTORAL RESEARCH, PROJECT MANAGEMENT

University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor. MI. 2010-2015

• strategized experimental design, defined priorities, created detailed project scope for cross-department research efforts

• research culminated in 14+ publications in academic research journals, chapters of books, and career development articles

CO-FOUNDER, USER RESEARCH 

PreLeaf for diabetes prevention. University of Michigan School of Public Health, Ann Arbor, MI. 2014-2015

• designed a diabetes prevention mHealth tool and business model after  20+ patients and provider interviews

• implemented user-centered design principles, incorporated behavior change psychology for personalized nutrition coaching

CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT MANAGER 

OnTrack IVF, University of Michigan Center for Reproductive Medicine. 2014-2015

Hacking Health Detroit-Windsor. Best Clinical Solution, Best Caregiver-Patient Solution 2015

• performed user interviews, unearthed latent user needs for assessing medication management and medication adherence for highly complex in vitro fertilization medication regimen 

• created branding materials, sketched early-stage concept wireframes

STRENGTHS

highly independent, fast-learner, risk-taker, creative, champion of user needs, project management, scrum/agile certification, creative problem-solving, building trusting partnerships, multi-tasking, research strategy, design thinking, resourcefulness, mentorship, openness, integrity

EDUCATION

UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN MEDICAL SCHOOL, Ann Arbor, MI.

Ph.D. Cellular and Molecular Biology. Thesis: Insights into adipose tissue extracellular matrix remodeling: Obesity and Weight loss 2010-2015

SELECT COURSEWORK: 

U of M Medical School - Understanding Healthcare Policy 2015

U of M Health Services - Motivational Interviewing techniques 2015

U of M Ross School of Business - Comprehensive Healthcare Strategies 2014

U of M School of Information - Health Informatics 2014

Harvard Business School EdX - Innovating Healthcare 2013

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SANTA BARBARA, Santa Barbara, CA.

B.S. Molecular Cell and Developmental Biology.

Minor: History of Art, Classical and Hellenistic Art and Architecture. 2004-2008

UNIVERSITY OF YORK, United Kingdom.

Full-year immersion study abroad 2006-2007

Department of Biochemistry

AWARDS

Partners in Excellence Award. Connected Health Innovation Challenge 2016

MIT Hacking Medicine. Best Mental Health Hack, Hey Charlie, now at MassChallenge 2016

Hacking Health Detroit-Windsor. Best Clinical Solution, Best Caregiver-Patient Solution 2015

U of M School of Public Health Innovation Competition. Finalist. 2015

INTERNSHIPS

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO, San Diego, CA .

Department of Bioengineering, Varghese Lab. Summer 2008

Researched mesenchymal stem cell scaffolding materials for bone tissue engineering 

TRINITY COLLEGE DUBLIN. Dublin, Ireland.

Center for Research on Adaptive Nanosciences and Nanodevices, Summer 2007

Explored effects of electromagnetic forces on stem cells for bone tissue engineering  

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SANTA BARBARA. Santa Barbara, CA.

Dept of Chemical Engineering, Summer 2005

Examined effects of various detergents and surfactants for optimizing drug delivery

INTERESTS

Interests: triathlon training, kayaking, classical music, behavioral psychology and behavioral economics, breadmaking, international food and travel, emerging technologies (AI, Machine Learning, Blockchain) 

SKILLS

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Product Management

User Research

Market Research

Requirements gathering

User stories 

Product Design

UX Design

Agile software development

QA

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EXPERIENCE

METHODS

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ALIGN

Design Thinking

User Interviews and focus groups

Journey Maps

Personas

Motivation Matrices

Service Design Blueprints

DEFINE

Validating needs

Prioritizing needs

Jobs to be Done

Innovation frameworks

Creating requirements

Business models and strategy
 

DESIGN

Sketches and Wireframes

Prototyping

Balsamiq App

Sketch App

Adobe UXd

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REFINE

Use Metrics

A/B Testing

Usability testing

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