Core Members
DIHR works closely with various University of Utah colleges, including Architecture & Planning, Social Work, Nursing, and the School of Medicine, as well as external partners in public health, community organizations, and industries.
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Professor, School Of Architecture, Director, Design Institute for Health and Resilience (DIHR), University of Utah
(He/His)
Keith Diaz Moore
Professor, School Of Architecture, Director, Design Institute for Health and Resilience (DIHR), University of Utah
Keith Diaz Moore is Associate Provost for Institutional Design and Strategy at the University of Utah and serves as the Director of the Design Institute for Health and Resilience. He is also a Professor in the College of Architecture and Planning and previously served the institution as the interim Chief Sustainability Officer (iCSO) and interim Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs (iSVPAA). As Associate Provost, his portfolio is wide-ranging including facilities, sustainability, global engagement and various strategic change initiatives including Academic Resource Management, Organizational Structure, Advancing Honors, Wellbeing and Resilience and Envision 2030 (a series of think tanks about the changing infrastructure needs of the evolving university). Last academic year, he led the Office of Global Engagement through a cross-campus, highly participatory strategic planning effort called Global U: Internationalization 2030 and is soft-launching a similar effort regarding sustainability this spring.
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Assistant Professor, City & Metropolitan Planning
Andy Hong
Assistant Professor, City & Metropolitan Planning
Andy Hong is an Assistant Professor in the Department of City & Metropolitan Planning at the University of Utah. He is the director of the Healthy Aging and Resilient Places Lab, whose mission is to create healthier and more resilient places for all people across the lifespan. His research focuses on the interplay between the built environment and human health, with a particular interest in the social and environmental determinants of health. His goal is to collaborate with local communities to develop equitable and sustainable place-based approaches to healthy aging and resilient places. Andy previously held positions at the University of Oxford, the George Institute for Global Health, the University of British Columbia, and the Korea Transport Institute. He completed his Ph.D. at the University of Southern California and his graduate and undergraduate studies at the University of Washington.
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Assistant Professor, School Of Architecture
Valerie Chang Greer
Assistant Professor, School Of Architecture
Valerie Chang Greer, AIA, LEED AP, is an Assistant Professor in the University of Utah College of Architecture + Planning and an architect with experience designing healthcare facilities, campuses and housing. Greer is Director of Graduate Studies in the School of Architecture and co-Director of the Healthy Aging Resilient Places (HARP) Lab at the University of Utah. Her research utilizes participatory community engagement and co-creation methods to explore the impact of built environments on health and wellness. Greer teaches design studios and professional practice at the undergraduate and graduate levels. She serves on the Board of Directors for the National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMA) Utah Chapter, and for the community design center ASSIST, Inc.
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Associate Professor, School Of Architecture
Jim Agutter
Associate Professor, School Of Architecture
Jim Agutter is an Associate Professor in the College of Architecture + Planning at the University of Utah, where he also serves as the Director of the Spark Design Initiative and the Bachelor of University Studies program in the Office of Undergraduate Studies. He is the founder and past director of the Multi-Disciplinary Design Program and currently serves as CEO of Applied Medical Visualizations. With over 18 years of experience, Jim has dedicated his career to addressing innovation and information design challenges. His research focuses on applying 2D and 3D design principles to large-scale, real-time data environments, with a particular emphasis on healthcare and cyber-security. Jim has published extensively in the field of information visualization and holds numerous technology solution patents, many of which have successfully transferred to industry. Throughout his career, Jim has received multiple awards, including the 2004-2005 Creative Achievement Award from the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture, the 2009 University of Utah Honors Professorship, the 2013 Early Career Teaching Award, the 2014 University of Utah Beacon of Excellence Award, and the 2016 University of Utah Distinguished Innovation and Impact Award.
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Associate Professor, College Of Social Work
Sarah Canham
Associate Professor, College Of Social Work
Sarah Canham is an Associate Professor in the College of Social Work and the Associate Director of the University of Utah’s Health Interprofessional Education program. Her research focuses on community-based approaches to addressing homelessness, access to health and social services, and aging. She collaborates with a wide network of providers, clinicians, and individuals with lived experience to inform her work and drive meaningful change.
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Ph.D. Student, Department of City & Metropolitan Planning | DIHR PhD Studentship Recipient | HARP Lab Member
Talayeh M.Hosseini
Ph.D. Student, Department of City & Metropolitan Planning | DIHR PhD Studentship Recipient | HARP Lab Member
Talayeh Mirseyed hosseini is a PhD student and Graduate Fellow of DIHR in the City and Metropolitan Department at the University of Utah. Her research focuses on urban health, green space equity, and the development of planning interventions that promote the active participation of senior citizens in community life while enhancing their mental and cognitive well-being. Recently, Talayeh has been engaged in exploring nature-based mental health solutions for older adults as a member of the HARP Lab in the CMP Department. Her doctoral research examines social infrastructure and third places for older adults, with a particular emphasis on the influence of the built environment on cognitive health in aging populations.
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Ph.D. Student HARP Lab Member, City & Metropolitan Planning
Hongseok Choi
Ph.D. Student HARP Lab Member, City & Metropolitan Planning
Hongseok Choi is a doctoral student in the Department of City & Metropolitan Planning at the University of Utah. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in Urban & Environmental Engineering in 2021 and completed his Master of Science degree in the same field in 2023 from Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST). During his graduate studies, he also participated in a professional training program on disaster management organized by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety of South Korea.
His master’s thesis investigated changes in urban mobility patterns during the COVID-19 pandemic to identify which types of urban spaces demonstrate resilience to infectious disease outbreaks, and to propose strategies for shaping post-pandemic urban environments. Hongseok’s research interests center on how environmental factors influence both physical and mental health, with a particular focus on identifying urban design and planning elements that foster safety, resilience, and quality of life for older adults in rapidly aging societies.
Following his master’s degree, Hongseok worked as a researcher at the Architecture and Urban Research Institute (AURI), a national government-funded research institute in South Korea. At AURI, he contributed to projects including "Regional customized CPTED (Crime Prevention Through Environment and Development) consulting projects, and "The Development of CPTED Evaluation Index for Municipal governments" which involved interdisciplinary collaboration to integrate planning, design, and public safety perspectives. Affiliated Members
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Associate Professor, Division of Geriatrics
Michelle Sorweid
Associate Professor, Division of Geriatrics
Michelle Sorweid, DO, MPH, is a Clinical Associate Professor in the Division of Geriatrics at the University of Utah. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Biological Sciences from the University of South Carolina and a Master’s in Public Health from Columbia University, specializing in Aging and Public Health. Dr. Sorweid completed her medical degree at the University of North Texas and her Geriatrics training at the University of Utah, where she also completed advanced research fellowships in cognitive health and caregiver support. Currently, Dr. Sorweid serves as the Medical Director of the University of Utah's Aging Brain Care Program, focusing on the evaluation and management of cognitive disorders. Her work emphasizes improving age-friendly healthcare, and she has been a Principal Investigator for clinical trials aimed at advancing care for individuals with cognitive impairment.
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Professor, School Of Architecture
Ajla Aksamija
Professor, School Of Architecture
Ajla Aksamija is a Professor at the School of Architecture at the University of Utah. She is the Distinguished Chair for Resilient Places and directs Transforming Places, Practices and Pedagogies Collaborative (TP3C) research entity. She served as the Chair of the School of Architecture. Her interdisciplinary research expertise includes building science and sustainability, emerging building technologies, digital design and representations, and innovations in architecture. Her professional background includes Perkins&Will, where she directed Building Technology Laboratory (“Tech Lab”), one of the first practice-driven architectural research laboratories, as well as U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Construction Engineering Research Laboratory. Dr. Aksamija authored three books, Research Methods for the Architectural Profession (Routledge, 2021), Integrating Innovation in Architecture: Design, Methods and Technology for Progressive Practice and Research (John Wiley & Sons, 2016), and Sustainable Facades: Design Methods for High-Performance Building Envelopes (John Wiley & Sons, 2013). She has contributed to several other books and published more than a hundred research publications. She has held many service roles within the academic and professional organizations, including regional, national, and international entities. She served as the President of the Facade Tectonics Institute. Her courses have received national recognition, and she is the recipient of several teaching awards, most notably by the Architecture 2030 organization for her innovative teaching methods on high-performance and sustainable design.
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Linda Edelman
Professor, College Of Nursing (Retired)
Linda Edelman
Professor, College Of Nursing (Retired)
Linda Edelman brings extensive expertise in both basic science and clinical/nursing research. She earned a Master of Philosophy in Experimental Pathology with a focus on molecular immunology in 1993 and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing in 1995, both from the University of Utah. For 17 years, she served as the Research Coordinator for the University of Utah Burn Center, where she played a key role in designing, conducting, and analyzing multidisciplinary clinical studies related to burn injuries. Dr. Edelman is a 2010 John A. Hartford and Atlantic Philanthropies Claire M. Fagin Fellow. Her current research centers on injury prevention and care for older adults, with a particular emphasis on those living in rural areas, as well as the triage of injured older adults in both rural and urban settings to trauma care.
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Director of Hospital Crisis Service at Huntsman Mental Health
Kevin Curtis
Director of Hospital Crisis Service at Huntsman Mental Health
Kevin Curtis, has worked in the mental health field for 20 years in clinical and administrative capacities. He is passionate about creating efficient, evidence-based, and human-centered access to mental health care for all in crisis. He is the operational administrator for the Huntsman Mental Health Institute Crisis Care Center, an 80,000 square foot continuum of care for individuals experiencing mental health crisis. He is also a member of The Center For Health Design’s Behavioral and Mental Health Environment Network, a collective of provider organizations, design professionals, industry consultants, and product manufacturers dedicated to enhancing the design of behavioral and mental health environments.
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Professor of Strategy and Design
Cord Bowen
Professor of Strategy and Design
Cord Bowen is a Professor of Strategy and Design at the University of Utah's David Eccles School of Business. As Director of the Doman Innovation Studio, he leads a campus-based incubator that supports startup growth and product development within the Utah community. The Studio facilitates practical applications of innovative ideas, bridging academic knowledge with real-world entrepreneurial ventures. Cord’s efforts focus on fostering innovation, providing mentorship, and encouraging students and startups to make significant social and economic impacts DIHR Summer Fellows (2025)
Emma Andreasen
City and Metropolitan Planning Graduate Student
Emma Andreasen
City and Metropolitan Planning Graduate Student
Master of Social Work - MSW, Aging
Dustin Higginson
Master of Social Work - MSW, Aging