In line with my educational and academic research background, my research incorporates a number of areas related to environment behavior interaction, elderly care, environmental design, urbanism, and evidence-based design within the built, urban and healthcare environment. My research has focused predominantly on healthy, sustainable urbanism especially in Long Term Care (LTC) and Assisted Living Facilities (ALF) to pursue evidence-based design. I have developed a protocol for analyzing core syntactical variables, such as integration and connectivity, and relating those variables in designing the environment: mainly to design the neighborhood and layout of care facilities to achieve therapeutic benefits for its residents and neighborhood’s physical environment to improve its walkability.

In particular, I incorporated computational simulation tools, such as Space Syntax techniques and Geographic Information System (GIS), to inform design decisions leading to better organizational performance. My objective is to develop a robust research agenda by focusing on precise, objective measurement of the environment and its impact on measurable health indicators. My critical mind, openness to new, challenging ideas, and use of cutting-edge methodological rigor are added advantages to running different research projects successfully.

I am committed to improving the quality of life for elderly people with dementia in Long Term Care facilities and my research has been supported by Toyota Foundation Grant, Academy of Architecture for Health Foundation (AAHF). The American Association of University Women (AAUW) supported my research activities through a very prestigious international research fellowship. I was also a 2013 GIA fellow (Grantmakers in Aging), which is a great honor and is a very reputed fellowship to continue research in aging-related healthcare environments. My research has been published in top journals of my field. My commitment to environmental research is to bring new perspectives to existing architectural knowledge and to encourage critical analysis of healthcare design practices. As an academic, one of my main objectives is to find ways in which my research could address teaching and contribute to contemporary practice. I always use my research findings to update my teaching materials where possible. In summary, the evidence-based environmental design research underpins my theoretical and analytical framework, which informs both my pedagogical mission and research agendas in academia.