Sun Young Park

Sun Young Park is an Associate Professor at the University of Michigan with triple appointments across the Penny W Stamps School of Art and Design, the School of Information, and the Digital Studies Institute within the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts. She maintains significant affiliations with the Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation (IHPI), the e-Health and Artificial Intelligence (e-HAIL) Program, the Center for Ethics, Society and Computing (ESC), and the Michigan Interactive and Social Computing (MISC) group.

Her educational background includes a Ph.D. from the University of California, Irvine's Department of Informatics, an M.Des. in Interaction Design from Carnegie Mellon University (where she also worked in the HCI Institute and Robotics Institute), and a B.S. in Industrial Design (major) with a minor in Multi-media Design from Ewha Women's University in Seoul, Korea.

Professor Park's research focuses at the intersection of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW), and Health Informatics, with particular emphasis on designing technologies that empower individuals—especially vulnerable populations with low health literacy—to access, understand, and share health-related data. Her work addresses critical gaps in patient-provider communication, health information management, and shared decision-making in care environments. Current projects include developing AI-driven tools for pediatric communication, collaborative health-tracking systems for children with Type 1 Diabetes, emergency care information systems, and conversational agents for marginalized communities.

Her recent publications demonstrate a consistent focus on applying HCI principles to healthcare challenges, particularly in pediatric contexts and for underserved populations. The research shows increasing integration of AI technologies with traditional HCI approaches to address complex healthcare communication barriers.

• NSF CRII Award
• NSF CAREER Award
• Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) Funding
• University of Michigan Office of Research (UMOR) Grants
• ACM Future Computing Academy (FCA) Membership

Professor Park actively mentors students and is seeking PhD candidates for the 2026-2027 academic year. Her research has received substantial funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF), National Institutes of Health (NIH), and Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), supporting multiple ongoing projects addressing healthcare communication challenges through technology design.

She collaborates extensively through the e-Health and Artificial Intelligence (e-HAIL) Program and the Michigan Interactive and Social Computing (MISC) group, working with interdisciplinary teams that include clinicians, computer scientists, and design researchers to develop and evaluate health technologies in real-world settings.