People  •  Architecture  •  Visiting Associate Teaching Professor

Zorana Matić Isautier

Dr. Zorana Matić’s work is multi-scalar and nested in intersections of design, human behavior, and health & well-being. She examines how people, built environment, and our behavioral choices interrelate and aims to develop design solutions that support health, improved experience, better communication, teamwork, efficiency, and automate safer behavior. In addition to urban-based research, she also examines how space and design impact individual experience and health and organizational outcomes at the level of a building or a single hospital unit. Her work on the role of design in infection control and supporting healthcare workers’ safety was published in leading peer-reviewed medical and design journals. Dr. Matić received the 2020 Researcher of the Year Award (The Center for Health Design).

Previously, Matić was a Lecturer in Urban Design at the Georgia Institute of Technology (College of Design), an Adjunct Faculty at the Boston Architectural College (BAC), and a Future Faculty Fellow at Northeastern University. Dr. Matić serves on the Foundation for Health Environments Research (FHER) Board as a Co-Chair of the Research Grants Committee.

Dr. Matić received her B. Arch and M. Arch. Degree (Architecture and Urban Studies) from the University of Belgrade, Serbia, and a Ph.D. in Architecture from The Georgia Institute of Technology, where her dissertation was supported by the School of Architecture Ph.D. Fellowship and selected for the 2018 EarthShare award by the Architecture Foundation of Georgia.

Research and Publication Highlights

  • Matić, Z., Machry, H., & Jacob, J. T. “Architecture Can Keep the Healthcare Workers Safe: Doffing Area Design to Improve Safety and Workflow in Caring for Patients with Serious Communicable Diseases.” In Zimring, C., Lim, L., & Stroebel, R. (Eds.) Using the Built Environment as a Tool for Healthcare Improvement: Advances in Research and Practice, Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. (forthcoming)
  • 2023 Matić, Z., Sala, M., Tonetto, L. M., Campiglia, G. C., Morgan, J., DuBose, J. R., Zimring, C. M., & Kraft, C. S. “Understanding Experience of Patients with Highly Infectious Diseases During Extended Isolation: A Design Perspective.” HERD: Health Environments Research & Design Journal.
  • 2022 Matić, Z., Oh, Y., Lim, L., & Zimring, C. M. “Placing Users at the Center: Evaluating Exam Room Design for Improved User Experience.” HERD: Health Environments Research & Design Journal.
  • 2022 Machry, H., Matić, Z., Oh, Y., DuBose, J., Morgan, J., Love, K., . . . Zimring, C. “Healthcare Design to Improve Safe Doffing of Personal Protective Equipment for Care of Patients with COVID-19.” Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology, 1-22.
    2020 Matić, Z., Oh, Y., & Lim, L.” Using Design to Make Doffing of Personal Protective Equipment Safer for Healthcare Workers.” Journal of The Korea Institute of Healthcare Architecture, 26(3), 17-26.
  • 2020 Matić, Z., Humphreys, B., Lim, L., Oh, Y., & DuBose, J. [논설] 안전한 환경을 제공하기 위한 바이오 봉쇄병실 설계 전략/ (Editorial Research Article). “Design Strategies for Biocontainment Units: Creating Safer Environments.” Journal of The Korea Institute of Healthcare Architecture (의료ㆍ복지 건축: 한국의료복지건축학회 논문집), 26(2), 83-87.
  • 2019 Wong, M. F., Matić, Z.*, Campiglia, G. C., Zimring, C. M., Mumma, J. M., Kraft, C. S., …& Prevention Epicenter of Emory, and Atlanta Consortium Hospitals. “Design Strategies for Biocontainment Units to Reduce Risk During Doffing of High-level Personal Protective Equipment.” Clinical Infectious Diseases, 69(Suppl 3), S241.
  • 2018 DuBose, J., Matić, Z., Sala, M., Mumma, J., Kraft, C., Casanova, L., …& Prevention Epicenter of Emory, and Atlanta Consortium Hospitals. “Design strategies to improve healthcare worker safety in Biocontainment units: learning from Ebola preparedness.” Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology, 39(8), 961-967.
  • 2018 Zimring, C. M., Matić, Z., Sala, M. F. W., Mumma, J. M., Kraft, C. S., Casanova, L. M., … & “Prevention Epicenter of Emory and Atlanta Consortium Hospitals. Making the invisible visible: Why does design matter for safe doffing of personal protection equipment?” Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology, 39(11), 1375-1377.

Departments

Architecture

Education

  • Ph.D., Georgia Institute of Technology, Architecture
  • M.Arch., University of Belgrade, Urbanism and Urban Planning
  • B.Arch., University of Belgrade, Faculty of Architecture

Awards

  • Future Faculty Fellow, College of Arts, Media and Design, Northeastern University (2022-2023)
  • Researcher of the Year Award, Healthcare Design Magazine and The Center for Health Design (2020)
  • EarthShare Fellow, Architecture Foundation of Georgia – AIA Georgia (2018)
  • Ph.D. Fellow, School of Architecture, Georgia Institute of Technology (2013)
  • Foundation for the Development of Scientific and Artistic Youth, Ministry of Education and Science Fellow, Republic of Serbia (2007-2012)