Design Thinking in Translational Research
The CSHB had the pleasure of hosting Dr. Jamie Aten (Wheaton College, Humanitarian Disaster Institute) during the spring 2026 semester, providing insight into design thinking for research and sharing his research on spiritually oriented clinical and community interventions for mass trauma. This blog focuses on explaining what design thinking is and the skills needed to make your research go beyond the academic world. To view the entire talk, this is now live! But for now, keep reading to get a small taste of what was presented.
What is Design Thinking and Why Is it Important?
According to Dr. Aten, design thinking is a human-centered approach to solving real-world problems. A more in-depth definition of this approach reveals that it’s ideal for complex, human-centered issues because you often learn the solution to a problem as you go. This model doesn’t chase perfection; instead, it encourages individuals to learn, make mistakes, course correct, and learn some more as they go. This allows for continuous growth and works well across multiple perspectives, even in uncertain situations where there may not be a cut-and-dry method. Design thinking is helpful in research because it emphasizes responsiveness, inventiveness, and leaning into possible “uncomfortable” situations. A helpful way to begin actively practicing design thinking is to identify your strengths and areas for growth. Design Thinking can be used within this process to provide scholars with tools and methods that enable them to be creative in their research.
Design Thinking is significant because ultimately it bridges the gap between research and practice. If your research is only accessible to other researchers or members of academia, then you miss so many other populations that could benefit from it. This method makes you pause for a moment and ask yourself, is what I’m creating desirable? Can it be sustained and be replicated or called upon by others? The unfortunate reality is that without a clear design, the work researchers produce will not be used by others. As Dr. Aten stated, “Good science fails to translate without good design.”
Translating Work
As we have already discussed, researchers translate their work so it can reach beyond the academic world. It can be so easy to get wrapped up in the world of research and communicate only in one way to one audience. Researchers must be able to make their work accessible to the general reader.
This is needed because research should never end up on a shelf; it should be put into active use. This begs the question: “How?” A helpful practice that Dr. Aten himself employs is stepping back from the research he has prepared with his students in mind or with other professionals in the field, and asking himself, “How would I explain this to an older family member, or a pastor, or a child?” Because design thinking is ultimately human-centered, it’s important to think through how research will land with someone, depending on their age, life experiences, or cultural background. Choosing empathy and putting yourself in someone else’s shoes to find solutions that actually treat the person, not your assumptions, is the core of this model and is beneficial time and time again.
Conclusion
Design thinking ultimately asks researchers to step outside of their comfort zones and pursue meaningful impact by centering their work on people. In doing so, it equips them to contribute to significant and lasting change.
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