This is a color selector for creating personalized custom patches. Check out the samples and try it yourself! Skin tone variation among humans. Photo courtesy of National Geographic/Sarah Leen (National Geographic, Sarah Leen) Simply upload a photo where your skin is clearly visible to discover your personal skin color value. Try it out!

I am still asking questions. How do visible surfaces shape judgment? How can biological insight reshape social response? Where should technology intervene—and where should it pause? I do not yet have definitive answers. What I have is a direction. Skin led me to emotion. Emotion led me to biology. Biology led me to structure. Structure led me to systems. I am less interested in declaring expertise than in refining inquiry. The work is ongoing. The questions are evolving. And

Structured thinking has shaped my approach across disciplines. Algorithmic problem-solving in computing requires identifying constraints, patterns, and optimal paths. Research requires hypothesis, iteration, and validation. Art requires composition, balance, and tension. Though these fields appear different, they share structural logic. Empathy, too, can be examined structurally. What triggers recognition? What reduces bias? What patterns influence interpretation? I do not be

Inflammation begins at the cellular level. Cytokines signal. Immune cells respond. Barrier function shifts. These microscopic processes are invisible—until they are not. Redness. Swelling. Texture. Sensitivity. What fascinates me is the transformation from microscopic imbalance to macroscopic signal. A cascade of molecular events becomes a visible mark. This is where biology intersects with perception. Understanding these pathways does not eliminate discomfort—but it reframes

Medical treatment often focuses on symptom suppression. But what about design? In developing a biodegradable therapeutic patch, I began thinking not only about efficacy but about inclusivity. If medical materials are visible, how do they interact with skin tone? How do adhesives behave on inflamed tissue? What does healing look like across different bodies? Care is not just pharmacological. It is structural. Inclusive biomedical design means asking: who is this for? Whose ski

Children often draw before they articulate. In exploring psychological drawing interpretation, I became curious about how visual patterns might reflect emotional states. The House–Tree–Person test is one example of how clinicians attempt to interpret symbolic imagery. Yet interpretation is often subjective, shaped by experience and bias. Could computational models assist in identifying patterns across thousands of drawings? Not to replace human judgment—but to examine consist

Before I studied the skin–brain axis, I felt it. Stress would precede flare-ups. Anxiety would precede inflammation. The sequence felt predictable long before I could explain it. Scientific research describes a complex network connecting the nervous system, immune signaling, and skin responses. Stress hormones influence inflammatory pathways. Neural signaling affects barrier function. The skin is not isolated tissue—it is neurologically and immunologically active. This biolog

We often claim that we judge based on character, not appearance. Yet biology contradicts us. Skin is one of the most immediate signals in human interaction. A flare of eczema, acne scarring, hyperpigmentation, vitiligo, or wrinkles can quietly alter how someone is perceived. These are biological phenomena—immune responses, hormonal fluctuations, cellular aging—but they are often interpreted as aesthetic or moral indicators. In observing this dynamic, I became interested in th

Skin was never just about dermatology for me. Growing up with chronic skin allergies, I learned that discomfort is often minimized when it is not dramatic. A rash can be seen. Redness can be treated. But the embarrassment, frustration, and quiet isolation that accompany visible difference often go unaddressed. I began to notice how quickly visible symptoms trigger interpretation—sometimes concern, sometimes avoidance, sometimes judgment. Art became my first response to that e