A design led, research based, and patient centric approach to improving the cancer patient and family experience.
Since 2015, Cincinnati Children’s Cancer and Blood Diseases Institute (CBDI) has partnered with the Live Well Collaborative (LWC) to research opportunities, design outcomes and envision an ideal patient and family experience that could serve as the model of care across Cincinnati Children’s.
Cincinnati Children’s, a nonprofit academic medical center established in 1883, is one of the oldest and most distinguished pediatric hospitals in the United States. With a nationally-renown reputation for excellence in patient care, Cincinnati Children’s is committed to improving child health and transform delivery of care through fully integrated, globally recognized research, education and innovation. Cincinnati Children’s is ranked #3 in the nation among Honor Roll hospitals in the U.S. News and World Report 2020-2021 Best Children’s Hospitals.
The Cancer and Blood Diseases Institute at Cincinnati Children’s is a national leader in caring for children and young adults with cancer. Ranked No. 3 in the nation by U.S. News & World Report, our patients, parents, physicians and researchers all work together to take on the toughest, most complex cancer cases. One of the largest and most technologically advanced cancer programs in the nation, its Proton Therapy Center is currently the only dedicated pediatric and R&D proton gantry in the world.
Spanning four divisions, the director of the Division of Oncology and executive co-director, of the Cancer & Blood Disease Institute is John Perentesis, MD, FAAP. A nationally recognized expert in the development of new drugs and molecular therapies for pediatric and young adult cancers and leukemia, Dr. Perentesis leads an active laboratory research program. The Division of Oncology has major new initiatives in translational care and research for adolescents and young adults with cancer, cancer survivors, and next-generation safety initiatives.
The Live Well Collaborative is dedicated to conducting leading-edge user research which is translated into desired solutions that meet the complexities of living well across the lifespan. Merging an unparalleled academia and industry model with our vetted design process, we co-create uniquely designed solutions for all users.
Since its establishment, the Live Well has successfully completed close to 100 projects in a wide variety of industries, with a mission to develop breakthrough innovations for consumers across their lifespan. Since 2015, our partnership with Cincinnati Children’s has resulted in over 40 studio projects.
Live Well has also developed a “Design Thinking for Healthcare Module” specifically for Cincinnati Children's researchers and hosts half day workshops for teams interested in learning more about design thinking methodologies and how to integrate them into their practice.
The University of Cincinnati (UC) and Procter and Gamble (P&G) founded the Live Well in 2007 as a 501(c)(6) non-profit organization located in Cincinnati, Ohio. The Live Well has since provided a unique multidisciplinary team composed of faculty and students from UC’s top-ranking colleges to offer its industry partners cutting-edge design expertise.
During our process, the team incorporates experimentation of unique design strategies with cutting-edge technology to expose studio sponsors to new methods of problem solving.
The studio project team takes a deep dive into the identified design challenge by gaining insights from patient and family interviews, as well as clinical stakeholder interviews and observations. The team then synthesizes these insights and forms themes to provide direction for future work.
The team draws on insights and key themes from the research phase to rapidly develop visualizations of service and product opportunities. These initial opportunities areco-developed and vetted with patients, families, and clinicians.
Final deliverables and actionable implementation strategies are co-developed through a process of stakeholder feedback and refinement. Patients, families, and clinicians are re-engaged for initial testing and validation of final deliverables. These final deliverables become prototypes for further testing by PI’s through studies, clinical trials, and pilot programs.
Faculty Leads work as directors, expert advisors, and coordinators of Live Well Collaborative projects. They coach, challenge assumptions, and provide appropriate support to enable teams to successfully understand, conceptualize, and refine solutions.
Project teams are composed of faculty, post-graduate fellows, graduate students, and undergraduate co-ops from a variety of disciplines and areas of expertise including design, business, biomedical engineering, computer science, and business.
Faculty (F)
Faculty Research Fellow (FRF)
Post-graduate (PG)
Post-graduate Fellow (PGF)
PhD Student (PhD)
Graduate Student (G)
Undergraduate Co-op (UG)
Blake Lane (F), Design
Elliot Peng (G), MDesign
Yuxin Meng (G), MDesign
Wang Xi (PhD), Design
Jenny Beruscha (UG), Communication Design
Kyle Cypher (UG), Communication Design
Anna Maffey (UG), Communication Design
Ann Black (F), Interior Design
Megan Sullivan (G), MDesign
Yunyi Zhang (G), MDesign
Wang Xi, Visiting Scholar
Jenny Berushca (PG), Communication Design
Davida Scoggins (PG), Industrial Design
Tony Reser (PG), Communication Design
Anna Maffey (UG), Communication Design
Todd Timney (F), Communication Design
Patty Wang (G), MDesign
Lauren Goodwin (PGF), Communication Design
Shannon Justice (UG), Communication Design
Mauricio Berrizbeitia (UG), Communication Design
Max Holden (UG), Industrial Design
Todd Timney (F), Communication Design
Andrew Jajack (PhD), Biomedical Engineering
Jamie Maier (PGF), Industrial Design
Jen Murray (UG), Fashion Design
Jay Heyne (UG), Industrial Design
Ariel Swift (UG), Communication Design
Todd Timney (F), Communication Design
Jiakang Qi (G), MDesign
Aaron Yang (G), MDesign
Andrew Jajack (G), Biomedical Engineering
Ivan Klus (UG), Computer Science
Kyle Cypher (UG), Communication Design
Andy Millard (UG), Communication Design
Todd Timney (F), Communication Design
Jay Heyne (PGF), Industrial Design
Babaljit Kaur (PGF), Communication Design
Ryan Norton (G), MDesign, Engineering
Hannah Martin (UG), Communication Design
Todd Timney (F), Communication Design
Ryan Fennessey (PGF), Communication Design
Jenny Berushca (PGF), Communication Design
Tony Reser (PGF), Communication Design
Lauren Goodwin (PGF), Communication Design
Mike Abeln (UG), Communication Design
Jen Hill (UG), Communication Design
Mauricio Berrizbeitia (UG), Communication Design
Dana Sodd (UG), Communication Design
Shannon Justice (UG), Communication Design
Maddie Lee (UG), Communication Design
Munazza Aijaz (UG), Communication Design
Todd Timney (F), Communication Design
Andrew Jajack (G), Biomedical Engineering
Aaron Yang (G), MDesign
Patty Wang (G), MDesign
Vrinda Trivedi (G), MDesign
Ryan Norton (G), MDesign
Alex Xu (G), MDesign
Jack Qi (G), MDesign
Ariel Swift (PGF), Communication Design
Jay Heyne (PGF), Industrial Design
Davida Scoggins (PGF), Industrial Design
Nicholas Twine (UG), Electrical Engineering
Ivan Klus (UG), Computer Science
Mauricio Berrizbeitia (UG), Communication Design
Mike Abeln (UG), Communication Design
Kellen Crosby (UG), Biomedical Engineering
Alex Vago (UG), Industrial Design
Emmanuel Jokotoyo (UG), Computer Engineering