Haiyan Zhang: Improving lives for people with Parkinson’s disease

As 2017 winds down, I’ve been reflecting on my role leading HR at Microsoft, and thinking about the incredible employees who inspire me every day through their work and their achievements. I firmly believe that passion is at the heart of all these great accomplishments, and employees are at their best when they feel a deep sense of meaning and purpose. When we create a culture that empowers them to follow their dreams, there are no limits to what they’ll accomplish. I also believe the best and brightest ideas can come from any person at any level and opening ourselves to diverse viewpoints will allow the very best ideas to flourish.

So in the spirit of looking back on the best of 2017, I want to share the stories of some of these amazing people at Microsoft who are harnessing their passions to make the world a better place. By combining their dreams with the power of the Microsoft technology platform, they are truly improving life for others.

A personal desire to improve lives

I work with many amazing people, but one person who stands out is Haiyan Zhang, Innovation Director at our Microsoft Research lab in Cambridge, England. I met Haiyan earlier this year during a senior leadership team meeting when she was invited to share her story. We have a tradition of opening each weekly SLT meeting with an accomplishment from a colleague. We call it “Researcher of the Amazing” and each week, one of us brings a story to motivate and inspire. Haiyan was invited by Harry Shum to share her experience.

As she explained her background, I was moved by her passion to improve people’s lives—a desire that stretches back to her childhood. When Haiyan was 8 years old, her family migrated from China to Australia, immersing her in a completely foreign culture. Not knowing the language, Haiyan felt like an outsider. Yet there was one person determined to help her—a third-grade teacher who spent every afternoon helping Haiyan learn English. Haiyan was touched by this teacher’s kindness, and it inspired her to pursue a career solving challenges for social good.

Helping those with Parkinson’s

While at Microsoft, Haiyan was motivated to help when she met Emma Lawton, a London-based graphic designer diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. Hand tremors prevented Emma from typing, drawing, and writing legibly. She feared she’d be forced to abandon her career.

Haiyan and her colleagues researched Parkinson’s disease and the cause of tremors, ultimately designing a wearable device to reduce them. They came up with a prototype wristwatch that uses tiny motors to create vibrations that counteract the flood of neural messages between Lawton’s brain and wrist. A custom app on Lawton’s Windows 10 tablet controls the vibration speed and frequency.

Wearing the Emma Watch (which Haiyan named after her friend), Emma can write and draw again—a life-changing ability that has allowed her to keep her job and continue pursuing her passion. Haiyan hopes the watch will one day improve life for more than 10 million people suffering from Parkinson’s worldwide. As Emma puts it, “To be able to write your name is a basic human right. … It’s empowering. It made me feel like I could do anything.”

Using Microsoft technology to empower people

Haiyan’s story is a great example of how Microsoft employees are turning their passions into technology breakthroughs that improve the world. As we continue to transform our culture, it’s inspiring to be a part of this global journey, empowering people to use Microsoft's technology to help everyone achieve more.