A multi-faceted UX leader, product strategist, and engineer, Aalap has over two decades of experience transforming complex challenges into innovative solutions. By leveraging interdisciplinary collaboration, participatory design, and fuzzy problem solving frameworks, Aalap has lead teams through the design of digital products, physical spaces, augmented reality experiences, patient experiences, services, business models, and books.
As Head of Product & User Experience at ICPSR, Aalap is currently helping the world’s foremost social science data archive transform their digital offerings. He previously helped Michigan Medicine establish and scale human-centered design and innovation.
He has led the design of the award winning UMHealthResearch, a health research recruitment platform used by tens of thousands of people across the world. He also wrote the front-of-the-front-end.
He co-founded Findcare, a nonprofit that connects low income communities to low-cost or free healthcare. The nonprofit was acquired by NeedyMeds.
He teaches navigating ambiguity in User Experience at the University of Michigan School of Information. He has created a popular 5-day free email course on topic.
Aalap and his wife Komal run the design and innovation studio d. (pronounced d dot).
Aalap has individually received several awards for his work, including U-M School of Information’s Rising Alumni Award, MICHR’s Outstanding Innovator Award, U-M Medical School’s Award for Innovation, and MICHR’s Employee of the year. He was a nominee for the University of Michigan President’s Staff Innovation Award. His teams have also received various awards for their innovative and human-centered work.