Dr. Anjali Joseph, EDAC, is the Spartanburg Regional Healthcare System Endowed Chair in Architecture + Health Design and Director of the Center for Health Facilities Design and Testing at Clemson University. A leading scholar in evidence-based design, she conducts research at the intersection of human factors, healthcare environments, and patient safety. Dr. Joseph has served as Principal Investigator on major federally funded projects, including AHRQ-supported patient safety learning labs focused on improving safety in emergency departments and operating rooms. Her work has shaped national conversations on integrating the built environment as a key component of safer, more supportive healthcare systems through rigorous research, interdisciplinary collaboration, and human-centered design.  

Dr. Rutali Joshi is the Vice-President and Research Lead for Health at HKS, driven by a passion for evidence-based, data-driven design and dedicated to translating research into impactful, actionable insights for the design industry. With a PhD and MS in Architecture and Health from Clemson University, along with a bachelor’s degree in architecture from Mumbai University, she brings a global perspective and depth of expertise to her work. Rutali specializes in creating design solutions that prioritize safety and elevate human experiences across healthcare environments. Dr. Joshi is also passionate about mentoring the next generation of healthcare designers and researchers. Rutali is also a sought-after international speaker and published researcher. 

Sharmin Kader, Ph.D. in Architecture, is a designer, researcher, and educator with over twelve years of work experience. Her project areas focus on healthcare facilities, student living-learning environments, and senior living. Currently, she is working as a research scholar at Kent State University. As a researcher, she has refined her skills on the mixed-method research design and has developed expertise on post-occupancy evaluation (POE) process. Throughout her academic and professional life, her work has received many recognitions. She has developed POE tool for hospice facility - Hospice Environmental Assessment Protocol (HEAP). She has worked at TreanorHL as lead design researcher and three of her practice-based research projects received the Certificate of Research Excellence (CORE). She has been serving as a Chair of the Board of the Environment Design Research Association (EDRA) since August 2020. She has presented in many international venues, and has served as a reviewer of conferences, AIA Convention, HERD Journal, and others.

Dr. Xuemei Zhu is a Professor in the Department of Architecture and a Faculty Fellow in the Center for Health Systems & Design at Texas A&M University. She is also a Presidential Impact Fellow and the holder of the Ronald L. Skaggs, FAIA & Joseph Sprague, FAIA Chair in Health Facilities Design, and the Co-director of the research group on Design Research for Active Living. Dr. Zhu’s scholarship investigates the impacts of built environment on public health and social equity, with a specific focus on active living, healthy communities, evidence-based healthcare design, school design, and workplace design, using interdisciplinary approaches. Her research is supported by agencies such as the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), and the American Institute of Architects (AIA), with a total support of about $7.4 million. She has published extensively in the fields of environmental design and planning, environment-behavior research, and public health.