Let's elevate your research, together.

The Research Application Design & Development {RADD} team is a software development team providing comprehensive technical services for researchers at Northwestern University and beyond.

With over a decade of experience collaborating with researchers, we have deep insight into the research landscape. We know budgets can be tight, so we find smart, cost-effective strategies that maximize impact without compromising quality. Your success is our priority, and we’re here to help you achieve it.

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Our Services

Software Programming and UI/UX Design

Our expert team of developers and designers build custom software solutions for researchers, creating tools that are as unique as the research they support.

Participant Communication and Engagement Tools

Our custom participant engagement platforms streamline participant communication and enhance engagement between research teams and participants.

Social Media & Print Ad Recruitment

We create impactful social media and print ad campaigns with modern design and targeted messaging to boost research visibility and bolster recruitment efforts.

Software Programming and UI/UX Design

Our expert team of developers and designers build custom software solutions for researchers, creating tools that are as unique as the research they support.

Participant Communication and Engagement Tools

Our custom participant engagement platforms streamline participant communication and enhance engagement between research teams and participants.

Social Media & Print Ad Recruitment

We create impactful social media and print ad campaigns with modern design and targeted messaging to boost research visibility and bolster recruitment efforts.

Graphic Design & Animation

Our design team creates compelling graphics and dynamic animations to simplify complex ideas in research and captivate target audiences.

Project Management Solutions

Along with our project management expertise, we utilize software to automate repetitive tasks and streamline workflows to keep projects on track to meet their goals.

WordPress Website Design

We develop tailored WordPress websites for researchers to to promote labs and studies to potential participants, partners and funders.

Graphic Design & Animation

Our design team creates compelling graphics and dynamic animations to simplify complex ideas in research and captivate target audiences.

Project Management Solutions

Along with our project management expertise, we utilize software to automate repetitive tasks and streamline workflows to keep projects on track to meet their goals.

WordPress Website Design

We develop tailored WordPress websites for researchers to to promote labs and studies to potential participants, partners and funders.

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Featured Projects

Explore our diverse portfolio of research software solutions, each tailored to meet the unique needs of the academic and scientific community.

RADD Chat is a secure web application that allows researchers to communicate with study participants via phone call and SMS on a single, easy-to-use platform. RADD Chat can be customized to meet your study’s needs.

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Think Thank is a bilingual crowdsourcing platform for tackling challenges in health and wellness. Users can submit, rate, and comment on ideas, which are automatically translated between English and Spanish.

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Keep It Up! is an online HIV risk reduction program for young men. The multi-tenant platform enables wide-scale dissemination of digital health interventions with customizable content and branding capabilities.

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Hear what our collaborators are saying…

I've worked with RADD for several years on different projects with different budgets - ranging from building a website, to a SMS/MMS HIV prevention intervention for teens, and web-based/webapp-based interventions for teens and adults. Their team is super collaborative, and unlike “off the shelf” software for interventions they are able to endlessly customize what you want your end product to look like and what data you’d like to capture. Plus, many of their team members have a background in research or science so for folks new to digital interventions this is super helpful when trying to figure out how to translate an “in person” program to something web- or SMS/MMS-based.

Kathryn Macapagal, Ph.D. (She/Her/Hers)
Associate Director, THRIVE Center, Impact Institute
Co-Director, Developmental Core, Third Coast Center for AIDS Research
Northwestern University

It was a joy working with RADD! They brought our team’s vision for a virtual innovation tournament to life. I’m confident that our research project was a success in part due to the user-friendly platform developed by RADD. The development process was collaborative, efficient, and transparent.

Amelia Van Pelt, PhD, MPH (She/Her/Hers)
Assistant Professor, Center for Dissemination
Associate Director of Research, Havey Institute for Global Health Ryan Family Center for Global Primary Care
Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine

The RADD team’s enthusiasm and dedication to creating accessible, impactful digital health tools made them a critical partner in the creation of SMART and Keep It Up! The scope of these projects was massive, yet they delivered something that felt both personal and scalable. Their seamless integration of academic research into cutting-edge digital solutions was impressive, but even more remarkable was their commitment to making these tools accessible and engaging for our participants. What struck me most was their work ethic—their ability to rapidly prototype, adapt, and refine, all while staying focused on the bigger picture. I can’t wait to collaborate with them again in the future.

Brian Mustanski, PhD (He/Him/His)
Associate Vice President for Social and Behavioral Research
Director, Impact Institute
Director, Third Coast Center for AIDS Research (CFAR)
Professor, Division of Implementation Science, Department of Medical Social Sciences

The RADD team does much more than build technology – they have a deep understanding of behavioral HIV research and the need for technology that is responsive to community needs. They meet with us regularly to help us think through issues like how best to collect data from potential users to inform the design of the technology that will ultimately be developed. They are also helpful in thinking through issues of sustainability and feasibility, and ensuring that technology is built within the needs and resources of a given project. We are extremely grateful for our ongoing collaborations with RADD because they are partners in all aspects of the research, including but not limited to the technology itself.

Audrey Harkness, PhD (She/Her/Hers)
Assistant Professor
School of Nursing and Health Studies
University of Miami