Research Areas

Exploring care, infrastructure, and justice across technology design and policy

1. Digital Legacy

My work examines how digital technologies intersect with end-of-life, grief, and memory. I’ve conducted audits of online platforms and algorithmic systems to assess their support for digital legacy and queer users, and investigated how individuals manage digital remains after a traumatic loss. These studies contribute to a broader understanding of how technological infrastructures shape — and often constrain — processes of remembrance, care, and closure in digital environments.

2. Human-Centered Design

I am a qualitative researcher committed to principles of community-based participatory research (CBPR). Using interviews, organizational network analysis, design workshops, and ethnographic fieldwork, I work closely with affected communities to understand the lived realities within infrastructure systems. My aim is to co-design socio-technical interventions that respond to real-world needs. Much of my research has centered on individuals navigating life-limiting chronic conditions, severe mental health challenges, or major losses — designing support systems that center care, dignity, and long-term usability.

3. Policy

In parallel to design and fieldwork, I examine the broader systems that structure access to care and support. I’ve analyzed big-data healthcare infrastructures to surface inequities in data governance and accountability, and explored how emerging AI and platform technologies challenge existing policies. My policy work aims to inform both legislative decision-making and institutional practices, particularly where infrastructure intersects with vulnerability and marginalization.

I'm always open to collaborations with scholars, designers, and organizers working at the intersection of care, infrastructure, and justice. Please reach out to Dylan.Doyle@Colorado.edu