A conversation with Leah Kemper, the director of faculty affairs
A member of the WashU public health community from the beginning, Kemper brings insights from her varied career to her current role recruiting and supporting faculty
July 9, 2026
Health Design & Impact Lab launched at SPH
Lab promotes the use of design approaches to improve health services.
A new laboratory has been established at WashU School of Public Health dedicated to designing health interventions and understanding complex systems to ensure that public health programs and interventions can be successfully implemented, sustained and scaled up to maximize impact.
The Health Design & Impact Lab, co-led by assistant professors Maura Kepper, MPH, PhD, and Sara Malone, MSW, PhD, aims to incorporate the principles and methods of design – engaging early and continually with target audiences to uncover root causes of health challenges, generate ideas and iteratively test prototypes – into public health research and practice to improve health outcomes, optimize interventions, elevate health-care delivery and expand the capabilities of health systems for all people.
The lab will function as an applied-learning space for students, researchers and practitioners to gain hands-on experience with health design.
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