Dan Ding, PhD

Dr. Dan Ding received her PhD in 2001 in mechanical and automation engineering from the Chinese University of Hong Kong in China. She joined the Human Engineering Research Laboratories in the VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System as a Research Scientist in November 2001 and began a 3-year postdoctoral fellowship in rehabilitation engineering at the University of Pittsburgh that same year. She is now an Associate Professor at the University in the Department of Rehabilitation Science and Technology with a secondary appointment in Pitt’s Department of Bioengineering. She is also a Research Scientist at the Human Engineering Research Laboratories in the VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System. She is a Testbed System Leader of the Home and Community Health and Wellness Testbed, and the Education Co-Director, both within the National Science Foundation’s Engineering Research Center (ERC) on Quality of Life Technology (QoLT), Pittsburgh, PA. Dr. Ding’s research interests include:

• Wearable technology for rehabilitation applications
• Assistive robotics and systems
• Instrumented environments and ambient assistive living

Dr. Ding has published more than 120 papers in refereed professional journals and abstracts/ conference proceedings along with 6 book chapters. She is a senior member of the Society of Instrumentation, Systems and Automation (ISA), a member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), and a member of the Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Society of North America (RESNA). She is an Associate Editor of Research for the Assistive Technology Journal. Dr. Ding is the recipient of several awards and honors including a 2005 research fellowship award from the Paralyzed Veterans of America and a 2004 Switzer fellowship award from the Department of Education and the National Institute of Disability Research and Rehabilitation. Dr. Ding has been awarded research grants from the VA, DOD, National Institute of Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR), and NIH, and has served or serves as project PI in three NIDRR Rehabilitation Engineering Research Centers. Dr. Ding is also PI or Co-PI of four separate training grants from NIDRR, Rehabilitation Service Administration, and NSF that train students at different levels (undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate) in rehabilitation engineering. View a list of Dr. Ding’s publications here.