I'm a PhD student and HCI researcher in the School of Information at UT Austin.
I study self-tracking technologies (e.g., wearables and connected apps) and their applications for managing chronic conditions.
I’m passionate about research and design contributing to health technologies that help everyone, no matter what their background or health status, meet their unique health-related goals, preferences, and needs.
I joined Withings as part of the Design & Product Management team based in their Paris office for internships in both 2023 and 2024.
During my first internship, my focus was on the app experience for users receiving alerts about heart rhythm irregularities. In addition to contributing to the design and
flow of several heart health functions, I independently created a three-week educational program aimed at Withings users with atrial fibrillation.
During my second internship, I was focused on the user experience for individuals with hypertension using Withings blood pressure monitors. My work involved in-depth user research, including analyzing survey data from nearly 4000 users,
developing personas, and presenting strategies for improving the user experience to the team.
I am supporting a randomized controlled trial led by colleagues in the UT School of Nursing. The trial assesses the effectiveness of a sensor-controlled digital game to improve self-management behaviors in older adults with heart failure. I work directly with participants to help them install and navigate their study devices (including a Withings smartwatch and smart scale). I have led several publications and am leading the qualitative interview portion of the study.
I worked at FasterCures, a Center of the Milken Institute for three years on the Health & Technology team. My research explored a variety of issues related to the collection and use of health data in the context of biomedical research, such as bias in health datasets, regulatory gaps in health data protections, and the interoperability of disparate health data systems and sources.
Please e-mail me for a copy of my CV with a full list of publications!
Peer-Reviewed Articles
[Submitted] Clifford, N., Tunis, R., Ariyo, A., Yu, H., Rhee, H, Radhakrishnan, K.. Trends and Gaps in Digital Precision Hypertension Management: Scoping Review. JMIR.
Tunis, R., West, E., Clifford, N., Horner, S., and Radhakrishnan, K. Leveraging Digital Health Technologies in Heart Failure Self-Care Interventions to Improve Health Equity. Nursing Outlook.
Tunis, R., Fleischmann, K., and Smith, A. (2024). Designing for Personalization in Personal Informatics: Barriers and Pragmatic Approaches from the Perspectives of Designers, Developers, and Product Managers. In Proceedings of the 2024 ACM Designing Interactive Systems Conference.
Tunis, R. (2023). Self-Tracking to Manage Chronic Illness: Exploring User Agency in Apps for Diabetes Self-Management. In: Information for a Better World: Normality, Virtuality, Physicality, Inclusivity. iConference 2023. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 13972. Springer, Cham.
**Best Short Research Paper Runner Up**
Radhakrishnan, K., Julien, C., O’Hair, M., Tunis, R., et al. (2023). Sensor-Controlled Digital Game for Heart Failure Self-Management: Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial. JMIR Research Protocols.
Tunis, R., Baranowski, T., Rangel, A., Custer, J., Thomaz, E., et al. (2023). A Decentralized Clinical Trial of a Digital Intervention with Multiple Health Trackers for Heart Failure: Early Learnings and Practical Considerations. In Proceedings of the 17th EAI International Conference on Pervasive Computing Technologies for Healthcare.
Trainum, K., Tunis, R., Xie, B., Hauser, E. (2023). Robots in Senior Living Facilities: A Scoping Review. JMIR Aging.
Peer-Reviewed Conference Submissions
[Accepted] Clifford, N. and Tunis, R. 2024. Personalization in Digital Hypertension Management: Systematic Review. AMIA 2024 Annual Symposium. San Francisco, CA.
Tunis, R. and Fleischmann, K. 2024. Towards Values-Focused Design Methods for Personalization in Consumer Health Informatics: Workshopping Approaches with Designers. IEEE International Conference on Healthcare Informatics. Orlando, FL.
Posters
Tunis, R., West, E., Clifford, N., Radhakrishnan, K. 2024. ‘I’m Not Your Average Heart Failure Patient’: Personalization & Context in Digital Tools for Chronic Disease Self-Management. St. David’s CHPR Annual Meeting, University of Texas at Austin School of Nursing. Austin, TX.
Tunis, R. 2023. Self-Tracking Apps for Diabetes Management: Do Current Designs Account for Diverse Patient Populations? St. David’s CHPR Annual Meeting, University of Texas at Austin School of Nursing. Austin, TX.
Radhakrishnan, K., Tunis, R., West, E., Clifford, N., Rangel, A. 2023. Sensor-Controlled Digital Game for Heart Failure Self-Management: Protocol Design. International Council of Nurses Congress. Montreal, Canada.
Invited Talks
Tunis, R. 2024, April. The Patient, the App, and the Illness: Understanding the User Experience for Chronic Illness Management Using Third Party Apps. Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services: Health Informatics and Interoperability Group. Virtual.
I was born and raised in Baltimore, MD, and went to the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, VA, where I received a B.A. in Sociology and French, plus some computer science coursework that got me forever fixated on unpacking the social impact of technology.
I then spent several years living and working at a health think-tank in Washington, DC before moving to Austin in 2021 to begin my PhD. I have also spent time living in France, Switzerland and Morocco,
which have all fueled my love of French. I also enjoy running and lifting, consuming new music/ pop culture, and walking around cities in hopes of finding their best bakeries.