WearDuke is a project where students truly get to see the impact of their work. The most exciting part of this project is that we are laying the groundwork for an initiative that will affect the entire freshmen class. I love talking about this project because people are fascinated by the idea and wish they could be one of the lucky freshmen in Gilbert Addoms residency hall.

Working with the Bass Connections team, I learned that implementing a campus-wide initiative has so many barriers of entry, ranging from the letters students will receive to the color scheme of the logo. Creating WearDuke truly was a collaborative process, and our team continuously adapted our focus group material, website set-up, reward structure and marketing strategies to ensure our pilot program is as successful as possible. I am excited to see tangible results in GA's incoming class and eventually Duke's entire freshmen population. Health technology is changing the world, and I am hopeful that WearDuke will positively impact students at Duke University.

Excerpted from the Duke Center for Applied Genomics and Precision Medicine website

Photo: Left to right: Grant Kim, Nathan Parikh, Lauren Willis, Sarah Bond, Christine Wang