Evidence-based design inspiring students to push for better designs

As healthcare continues to change, Suining Ding believes what she’s doing is having a positive impact on the field and the world. She’s even more convinced her students’ futures will have a greater impact.

Ding, a professor of interior design, has been selected to receive a 2025 Purdue University Fort Wayne Featured Faculty Award. She specializes in designing healthcare environments that make people comfortable, increase patient safety, reduce walking distance, and improve organizational efficiency.

“Research shows that human behavior and environment are intricately linked, and well-designed environments can impact human behavior positively,” Ding said. “So how can we design a healthcare environment that can heal and serve patients more effectively? Through my work, I strive to solve complex problems to create better healthcare environments for patients and caregivers.”

Patients who feel safe and comfortable—especially those who are exposed to nature and daylight—can heal faster and achieve the most favorable medical outcomes, Ding said. Proper design should meet all human needs, such as privacy, and connecting with nature and family. This includes things as complex as helping people with disabilities, or situations such as dementia, vision impairment, and autism.

After graduating from Ohio State University in 1994, Ding worked professionally in Ohio for 10 years designing healthcare facilities before moving to Fort Wayne in 2003. Teaching was always her goal, but the professional practice experience provided the foundation for her instruction.

Ding has written five textbooks with another coming soon, and she stresses to every class she teaches that the research component has become an integral part of the design process. Linking research to design practice is paramount, she said. It is possible to achieve the best possible outcomes for patients and caregivers when research is integrated into an evidence-based design process.

“We need to expose and educate our students to applying theories and implementing research evidence to design projects which is really important,” Ding said. “With that, our students will be able to become well-rounded designers. Evidence-based design is all about the research, research evidence identification, implementation, and evaluation.”

Ding said PFW has provided encouragement and support for her efforts through four Senior Summer Faculty Research Grants since 2020 and several others. That list includes a 2021 Purdue Service-Learning and Fellowship Grant, and two Purdue Technical Assistance Project grants, which have allowed her study and research to keep pushing her field forward. Her work has earned numerous awards, both on campus and off, and she has continually served several professional organizations in various capacities.

“I receive a lot of support, which I am very grateful for,” Ding said. “With that support, I’ve been able to continue my research, and I’ve been able to synthesize my findings into impactful publications.”