Our team
a collaborative
ecosystem
Core leadership works alongside an interdisciplinary constellation of artists, scientists, clinicians, designers, technologists, and community partners. Each project is built through shared authorship, ensuring artistic and scientific intelligence shape inquiry from the outset.
founders
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Janani Balasubramanian
Executive and Artistic Director
Janani Balasubramanian is an award-winning artist and director and a leading voice in artist-scientist collaboration.
His work has been presented at leading cultural and scientific institutions worldwide, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, London School of Economics, Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), Lincoln Center, San Francisco Exploratorium, Andy Warhol Museum, Ace Hotel, and most recently at The Music Center in Los Angeles in partnership with LeVar Burton Entertainment.
He has received support from many of the nation’s most prestigious funders and commissioning organizations, including the MacArthur Foundation, Getty Foundation, Sloan Foundation, and Sundance Institute. His many awarded artistic residencies include MacDowell, Camargo, Djerassi, Green Box Arts, Pioneer Works, and UCross.
He is co-author of Art-Science Undisciplined: A Playbook for Transformative Collaboration (University of California Press, 2026), a field-defining guide to interdisciplinary innovation. A 2025 Lenore Tawney Fellow, he sits on the boards of the Djerassi Resident Artists Program and the Journal on Perspectives in Arts in Health.
At Forever Lab, Janani leads the artistic vision and strategic development of interdisciplinary initiatives that unite artists, scientists, and technologists to design new models of care.
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Karleen Giannitrapani, PhD, MPH
Principal Investigator
Dr. Karleen Giannitrapani, PhD, MPH, is a nationally recognized expert in co-design, healthcare innovation, and interdisciplinary collaboration, with a focus on improving patient and caregiver experience in moments of vulnerability. A former professional dancer with over twelve years in the field, she brings a deep commitment to bridging creative and scientific approaches to care.
She is Principal Investigator of Forever Lab, where she leads the lab’s research strategy, overseeing clinical studies, interdisciplinary design processes, and the translation of artistic and scientific collaboration into durable care innovations.
Dr. Giannitrapani is Section Chief of Research for Palliative Care and an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Stanford University. She is also a Core Investigator at the VA Palo Alto Center for Innovation to Implementation and Director within the VA Quality Improvement Resource Center for Palliative Care, supporting programs across 170 VA facilities nationwide.
She has been an investigator on more than $30 million in federally funded research and has published over 80 peer-reviewed articles in journals including Medical Care, JAMA Surgery, JAMA Network Open, and Journal of Pain and Symptom Management.
Board Members
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Skip Victor
Skip is a Stanford Distinguished Careers Institute Fellow 2021, a private equity investor, and supporter of innovation at the intersection of art, science, and technology.
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Srinija Srinivasan
Srinija Srinivasan is a Stanford Trustee Emeritus, Vice Chair of Stanford Institute for Human-Centered AI Advisory Council, a visionary advocate for human centered technology and markets driven by artistic values and our deepest humanity.
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Sean Wheeler
Sean is a Stanford Distinguished Careers Institute Fellow 2021, a global strategist, social impact leader, and lecturer at the Stanford d.school with expertise in organizational transformation.
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Deborah Cullinan
Deborah is Vice President for the Arts at Stanford, is a leading thinker on the role of arts organizations in mobilizing communities and shaping political, social, and cultural landscapes.
Students & Trainees
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Emily Saletan
Emily Saletan is an artist and technologist who wants to try everything twice. Saletan is a master’s candidate in Music, Science, and Technology at Stanford’s Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics, having studied Symbolic Systems (Neurosciences) in undergrad with minors in vocal performance and social dance. Other research includes audiology at the Stanford Translational Auditory Research Lab and a master’s thesis in psycholinguistics. She moonlights as a singer-songwriter.
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Nyah Flores
Nyah Flores student researcher recently graduated from Colorado College having received a Bachelor’s Degree in Neuroscience with a minor in Spanish. She is a former student-athlete, a visual artist, a traveler, and life-long student (currently exploring graduate education options). Flores’ research interests include Neuroaesthetics and how art can promote health and wellbeing.
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Marti Okech
Marti Okech recently graduated from Huntsville High School in Texas. She is currently taking a gap year to participate in Art and Health Research. She is a visual artist, a runner, a former team captain, and member of the national honors society. She looks forward to advancing her research career while starting an undergraduate degree in cognitive science next fall.
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Annika Joshi
Annika Joshi is a sophomore at Stanford University pursuing a double major in Bioengineering and Music. She is interested in solving medical problems, whether through engineering innovations or arts-based approaches. Outside of Forever Lab, Annika is a songwriter, composer, and pianist. She also conducts biomaterials research at the Feig Lab, where she works on developing piezoelectric, injectable organogels for nerve stimulation.
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Sarah Gorbatov
Sarah is an M.D. candidate (Class of 2028) at California Northstate University College of Medicine and received her B.S. in Biochemistry from UCLA. Her research includes legacy and meaning-making in healthcare, the role of the arts in promoting wellbeing, and environmental and lifestyle determinants of lung cancer. Outside of her academic work, she is a violinist and pianist who performs in community orchestras and enjoys bringing music into clinical and community spaces. Sarah is also a former Level 10 gymnast and enjoys staying active through open gym nights and rock climbing.
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Amy Garfinkel
Amy Garfinkel is a Doctor of Public Health (DrPH) student at UC Berkeley. She is interested in exploring interdisciplinary, collaborative approaches for weaving arts-based experiences and public health initiatives together to promote mental health and social connection. She received a BA in Social Welfare and MPH in Public Health Nutrition from UC Berkeley.
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Caroline Cho
Caroline Cho is a freshman at Stanford University, where she plans to study human biology on a pre-med track. She is interested in how people interact with technology—especially in ways that meaningfully improve autonomy and quality of life—and is involved in research and community initiatives at the intersection of healthcare and innovation. Caroline is also a violist in the Stanford Symphony Orchestra and a writer for The Stanford Daily.
Fellows
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Thao Ha, PhD
ATLAS Fellow
Associate Professor of Psychology, Arizona State University
Principal Investigator, HeART Lab -
Modesto "Flako" Jimenez
ATLAS Fellow
Artist, Director
Founder, OYE Group -
Mei Tao + Cameron Russell
ATLAS Fellows
Creators, The Art of Care
Affiliates & Collaborators
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Ellen Oh
Director, Interdisciplinary Arts Programs
Office of the Vice President for the Arts
Stanford University -
Bhagvat Maheta, MD
Resident Physician
Northwestern University -
Nathaniel Coggins, MD
Program Director, Emergency Palliative Care
Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine
Department of Medicine, Section of Palliative Care
Department of Emergency Medicine -
Emily Linderman, BCC
Palliative Care Chaplain
Stanford Healthcare -
Mark Fleming, PhD, MS
Associate Professor of Health and Social Behavior
School of Public Health
University of California, Berkeley -
Karl Lorenz, MD, MSHS
Professor of Medicine (Primary Care and Population Health)
Stanford Medicine -
Sarina Isenberg, PhD, MA
Bruyère Chair in Mixed Methods Palliative Care Research, Bruyère Health Research Institute
Associate Professor, Department of Medicine, University of Ottawa -
Cati G. Brown-Johnson, PhD
Senior Research Scholar
Stanford Medicine
Evaluation Sciences Unit -
Sara Singer, PhD, MBA
Professor of Organizational Behavior (by courtesy)
Professor of Health Policy and Medicine, School of Medicine
Senior Fellow (by courtesy), Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies
Stanford University -
Trisha Lagaso Goldberg
Director of Programming and Engagement, Anderson Collection at Stanford University
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Raziel Gamboa
Qualitative Researcher and Anthropologist
Organizational affiliates
opportunities
Work With Forever Lab
Research Assistants
We are often looking for motivated and engaged students who would like to use their skills on interesting problems at the intersection of art, health science, and technology. Graduate, professional, and undergraduate students with cross-disciplinary backgrounds are especially encouraged to reach out. We prefer to support well-aligned thesis projects or practicum projects for course credits. Occasionally, paid research assistantships are also available. Please reach out through with a brief cover note and link to your CV/transcript.
We will list other positions as they become available.