Professor Zoe Jonassen

Her academic journey began with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology at the University of Konstanz, completed with distinction. She then pursued a master’s degree in Social and Organisational Psychology at the London School of Economics and Political Science, also graduating with distinction. This training established a strong foundation in human behaviour, decision-making, creativity and innovation, preparing her to investigate complex organizational processes through both psychological and management perspectives.

From 2017 to 2021, she completed her doctoral studies in Innovation and Strategy at ETH Zurich’s Chair of Strategic Management and Innovation. Her research examined emotional and motivational dynamics in teams, organizational learning and collaboration across institutional boundaries. Alongside her doctoral work, she coordinated relationships with practice partners and supervised master’s research, strengthening the connection between rigorous academic inquiry and real organizational challenges.

Professor Jonassen continued her research through a Swiss National Science Foundation Postdoc Mobility Fellowship at NYU Stern School of Business, collaborating with researchers at NYU Grossman School of Medicine. There she investigated collective frustration and anxiety in teams coordinating around algorithmic tools, as well as strategies for making remote patient monitoring more equitable. She later joined the University of Zurich, where her return-grant project explored how emotions can augment or hinder collective human–AI decision-making.

In 2024, she joined the University of St. Gallen as Assistant Professor of Assessing Innovation in Healthcare. Her current programme examines AI-supported clinical decisions, paediatric sepsis alerts, remote patient monitoring, patient messaging and inter-organizational learning in drug discovery. Across these projects, she asks how healthcare organizations can introduce advanced technologies without neglecting emotion, ethics, equity and well-being. Her teaching similarly connects research with practice through courses on AI in healthcare, behavioural science, qualitative methods and responsible technology implementation.

With 12 research outputs listed by the University of St. Gallen and a Google Scholar h-index of 6, Professor Jonassen is developing a distinctive interdisciplinary profile at the intersection of organizational behaviour, innovation and digital health. Her work combines qualitative field research, behavioural insight and close collaboration with healthcare institutions to explain not only whether new technologies work, but how people experience, adapt to and responsibly use them.