Telemedicine Africa
18th World Congress on Public Health, Cape Town 2026 Health Without BordersEquity, Inclusion, and Sustainability Telemedicine and Connected Care Lab University of Johannesburg, 21 years of impact
Dr Nailah Conrad
Facilitator

Dr Nailah Conrad

Design-thinking practitioner and health innovation researcher; Programme Lead, Hasso Plattner School of Design Thinking

Independent consultantUniversity of Cape Town

South Africa

Presentation
Facilitating the four group activities
Throughout the day · Thursday 10 September 2026

Biography

Dr Nailah Conrad is an experienced design-thinking practitioner and health innovation researcher known for her human-centred approach to complex healthcare challenges. She holds a PhD in Medical Biochemistry from the University of Cape Town and works in empathy-driven research, systems thinking and collaborative problem-solving to create equitable, patient-centred solutions. She trained as a coach and Programme Lead at UCT’s Hasso Plattner School of Design Thinking and is a certified LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® facilitator. She convenes UCT’s MPhil in Health Innovation and has lectured its Health Innovation and Design course since 2015.91 words — the short biography for programmes, introductions and social posts.

Dr Conrad is an experienced design-thinking practitioner and health innovation researcher known for her human-centred approach to complex healthcare challenges. Holding a PhD in Medical Biochemistry from the University of Cape Town, she works in empathy-driven research, systems thinking and collaborative problem-solving to create equitable, patient-centred solutions. She trained as a coach and Programme Lead at UCT’s Hasso Plattner School of Design Thinking and is a certified LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® facilitator.

Since 2016 she has facilitated design tools across sectors including finance, biomedical engineering and public health. Her academic leadership includes convening UCT’s MPhil in Health Innovation and co-developing and lecturing its Health Innovation and Design course since 2015, as well as developing and teaching a design thinking module for the School for International Training Graduate Institute’s MA in Sustainable Development Practice. She has published widely and presented internationally on biotechnology, biochemistry, design thinking and community engagement.

Research interests

  • Human-centred approaches to complex healthcare challenges
  • Empathy-driven research, systems thinking and collaborative problem-solving for equitable, patient-centred solutions

Areas of expertise

  • Design thinking
  • Human-centred design for health
  • Empathy-driven research
  • Systems thinking
  • Collaborative problem-solving
  • Community engagement

Professional achievements

  • Has facilitated design tools across finance, biomedical engineering and public health since 2016
  • Convenor, MPhil in Health Innovation, University of Cape Town
  • Co-developed and has lectured UCT’s Health Innovation and Design course since 2015
  • Developed and teaches a design thinking module for the School for International Training Graduate Institute’s MA in Sustainable Development Practice
  • Has published widely and presented internationally on biotechnology, biochemistry, design thinking and community engagement

Awards and honours

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Key publications

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