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Dr. Bon Ku        

Program Manager at ARPA-H; Emergency Medicine Specialist & Former Director of the Health Design Lab at Jefferson University

Dr. Bon Ku is a recognized leader in healthcare design. He is the Program Manager at the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H), a research funding agency that supports transformative biomedical and health breakthroughs – ranging from the molecular to the societal – to provide health solutions for all.

Dr. Ku joined ARPA-H from Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University, where he served as Associate Dean for Health Design and the Marta and Robert Adelson Professor of Medicine and Design. Ku also worked as the director of their Health Design Lab, where his research focused on the medical applications of 3D printing and the design of healthier communities. He also serves there as a practicing emergency physician.

An internationally renowned speaker, Dr. Ku has been featured at high-profile events such as SXSW and TEDx. His work toward redesigning health care has been featured in popular venues including CNBC and The New York Times. Dr. Ku is also the co-author of "Health Design Thinking" and the host of "Design Lab" podcast.

Dr. Ku holds a doctorate in medicine from Pennsylvania State University and a master’s in public policy from Princeton University.

Speech Topics


The Role of Design During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Join Dr. Bon Ku, an emergency medicine physician and Director of the Health Design Lab at Thomas Jefferson University, in a conversation about design and health care. Bon will show how design has been applied to real-world problems in health care, from gyn exams in the emergency room to better PPE, low cost ventilators and ICU rooms. His new book, Health Design Thinking, co-written by the influential designer Ellen Lupton, shows ways to generate creative ideas and solutions in the context of medicine. Problems in health care often involve ambiguity and uncertainty, lacking black-and-white answers. His talk will invite attendees to think like designers and embrace the art of listening and the joy of making.

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