Faculty
Michelle Jillian Johnson, PhD

Associate Professor of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
Department: Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
Graduate Group Affiliations
Contact information
Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
1800 Lombard Street, 1st Floor, Office 9
Philadelphia, PA 19146
1800 Lombard Street, 1st Floor, Office 9
Philadelphia, PA 19146
Office: 215 893-2665
Fax: 215 893-2686
Lab: 215 893-2695
Fax: 215 893-2686
Lab: 215 893-2695
Publications
Education:
BS (Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics)
University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, 1990.
MS (Mechanical Engineering - Emphasis in Robot Mechanical System)
University of California, Irvine, Irvine, California, USA, 1994.
PhD (Mechanical Engineering - Emphasis in Robotics, Design, Controls and Mechatronics)
Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA, 2002.
BS (Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics)
University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, 1990.
MS (Mechanical Engineering - Emphasis in Robot Mechanical System)
University of California, Irvine, Irvine, California, USA, 1994.
PhD (Mechanical Engineering - Emphasis in Robotics, Design, Controls and Mechatronics)
Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA, 2002.
Links
Search PubMed for articles
Department of Bioengineering (Secondary Appointment)
Old Rehabilitation Robotics Lab website
Article on Talk
Youtube Podcast Panel Presentation on Inclusive Robotics by Society, Robots and Us.
Current Rehabilitation Robotics Lab Website
MEAM Graduate Group Affliation
Center for Neuroengineering and Therapeutics: Home Rehabilitation Robotics Lab is Affiliated
GRASP Lab, Rehabilitation Robotics Lab has Center Affiliation
TEDxPhiladelphia Speaker Site
AAAS Talk Media 2022
Permanent linkSearch PubMed for articles
Department of Bioengineering (Secondary Appointment)
Old Rehabilitation Robotics Lab website
Article on Talk
Youtube Podcast Panel Presentation on Inclusive Robotics by Society, Robots and Us.
Current Rehabilitation Robotics Lab Website
MEAM Graduate Group Affliation
Center for Neuroengineering and Therapeutics: Home Rehabilitation Robotics Lab is Affiliated
GRASP Lab, Rehabilitation Robotics Lab has Center Affiliation
TEDxPhiladelphia Speaker Site
AAAS Talk Media 2022
Description of Research Expertise
My research is mainly in the area of robot-mediated rehabilitation. I am focused on the investigation and rehabilitation of dysfunction due to aging, neural disease, and neural injury. I am particularly interested in 1) exploring the relationships between brain plasticity and behavioral/motor control changes after robot-assisted interventions; 2)quantifying motor impairment and motor control of the upper limb in real world tasks such as drinking; and 3) defining the methods to maintain therapeutic effectiveness while administering local and remote, robot-mediated interventions.I direct the Rehabilitation Robotics Lab. This is a new Lab within the Department of Physical, Medicine, and Rehabilitation in the Perelman School of Medicine. The Rehabilitation Robotics Lab mission is to use robotics,rehabilitation,and neuroscience techniques to translate research findings into the development of assistive and therapeutic rehabilitation robots capable of functioning in real-world rehabilitation environments. Our goal is to improve the quality of life and function on activities of daily living (ADLs) of our target population in supervised or under-supervised settings.
Keywords (in alphabetical order): Brain Plasticity, Design, Controls, Motor Control, Robotics, Rehabilitation, Stroke, Therapy, Upper Limb
Selected Publications
Segado M, Prosser L, Duncan AF, Johnson MJ, Kording KP: Assessing infant risk of cerebral palsy with video-based motion tracking. medRxiv. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, Nov 2024 Notes: DOI: 10.1186/s12887-024-04927-4.Sowande OF, Koyner D, Prosser L, Johnson MJ: Design of a robotic infant simulator to understand the role of the trunk in infant postural stability and center of pressure. 33rd Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers International Conference on Robot and Human Interactive Communication, Pasadena, California, USA Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Page: 1005-1012, Oct 2024 Notes: 10.1109/RO-MAN60168.2024.10731418.
Skorup JC, Pierce SR, Ruwaih N, DeMauro SB, Johnson MJ, Prosser LA: Hammersmith neonatal and infant neurological examinations scores in typically developing infants aged 1-6 months. Journal of Child Neurology. SAGE Publications, 40(1): 10-14, Sept 2024 Notes: https://doi.org/10.1177/08830738241282722.
Nguyen AT, Anand A, Johnson MJ: Exploring electroencephalogram responses during observation of actions performed by human actor and humanoid robot. 10th Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Robotics and Automation/ Engineering in Medicine and Biology International Conference for Biomedical Robotics and Biomechatronics, Heidelberg, Germany. Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Page: 1795-1801, Sep 2024 Notes: 10.1109/BioRob60516.2024.10719790.
Waters EL, Mendonca RJ, Cacchione PZ, Johnson MJ: TheraDyad: Feasibility of an affordable robot for multi-user stroke rehabilitation. 10th Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers-Robotics and Automation Society/Engineering Medicine and Biology Society, (IEEE-RAS/EMBS) International Conference for Biomedical Robotics and Biomechatronics (BioRob), Heidelberg, Germany. IEEE, Page: 1498-1503, Sep 2024 Notes: 10.1109/BioRob60516.2024.10719912.
Sobrepera MJ, Elfishawy J, Nguyen AT, Prosser L, Johnson MJ: Insights on telecommunication use by rehabilitation therapists before, during, and beyond COVID-19. Archives of Rehabilitation Research and Clinical translation. Elsevier, 6(2): 100326, June 2024 Notes: DOI: 10.1016/j.arrct.2024.100326.
Roberts D, Schlatterer W, Woo Lee S, Singleton J, Lee B, Johnson MJ, Carpick RW: DEI task force accomplishments: The DEI scholars program and its DEI elective option 2024 American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) Annual Conference & Exposition, Portland, Oregon. ASEE, June 2024 Notes: 10.18260/1-2--47114 https://peer.asee.org/47114.
Udayagiri R, Yin J, Cai X, Townsend W, Trivedi V, Shende R, Sowande OF, Prosser LA, Pikul JH, Johnson MJ: Towards an AI-driven soft toy for automatically detecting and classifying infant-toy interactions using optical force sensors. Frontiers in Robotics and Artificial Intelligence (AI) Frontiers Media SA, 11( 1325296), March 2024 Notes: doi: 10.3389/frobt.2024.1325296.
Sobrepera MJ, Nguyen AT, Gavin ES, Johnson MJ: Insights into the deployment of a social robot-augmented telepresence robot in an elder care clinic – perspectives from patients and therapists: a pilot study. Robotica. Cambridge University Press, 42(5): 1321-1349, March 2024 Notes: https://doi.org/10.1017/S026357472400002X.
Waters EL, Johnson MJ: Motor learning in robot-based haptic dyads: A review. Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Transactions on Haptics (IEEE-ToH). IEEE, Online: 1-18, March 2024.
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