Using technology to personalize cancer care.

Hannah Graffeo, 26, is a design researcher at IBM in New York.

Q. What is your role as a design researcher?

A. My group supports IBM Watson for Oncology, a part of Watson Health that helps care teams personalize cancer treatment. We develop software tools that allow cancer specialists to quickly analyze health data to gain insights.

What is your background?

I have a bachelor’s in fine arts with a focus on sculpture from Virginia Commonwealth University, and a master’s in integrated innovation for products and services from Carnegie Mellon. As a sculptor, I gained an understanding of how objects and environments affect people, which has turned out to be fundamental to my job.

Do you still sculpt?

I don’t do large-scale sculpture using steel and wood like I used to, but I still work with textiles, doing embroidery, crocheting and weaving. I keep my hands busy.

How do you gather information for your job?

Just as ethnographers study people and cultures, I follow doctors and nurses during their day at a hospital, clinic or office to learn how they work. I listen while medical professionals talk to each other and to patients. When it’s not intrusive, I ask questions.

Read full article: An Ethnographer of Cancer Care for IBM Watson – The New York Times

	Read Full Article: An Ethnographer of Cancer Care for IBM Watson – The New York Times