Deanna Gates, PhD

Dr. Deanna Gates is a professor of Movement Science and director of the Rehabilitation Biomechanics Laboratory (RBL) at the University of Michigan School of Kinesiology. Her service includes being graduate program director of Movement Science. She is also a professor of Biomedical Engineering and Robotics in the College of Engineering. Prior to her time at U-M, Dr. Gates was a research biomechanist, then site supervisor at the Brooke Army Medical Center in Fort Sam Houston, TX. She completed her PhD in Biomedical Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin.

Dr. Gates’s research aims to improve function and quality of life in individuals with musculoskeletal impairments. Specifically, her work focuses on exploring the factors that relate to a person’s ability to successfully use assistive technology, how to train individuals for optimal use, and the development of appropriate outcome measures to assess success of new technology.  Her work has been published extensively top peer-reviewed journals, including the Journal of Biomechanics, Science Translational Medicine, and IEE Transactions on Neural Systems and Rehabilitation Engineering, as well as being featured in National Geographic. Her research has been supported by grants from the Department of Defense, National Science Foundation, and the National Institutes of Health.   

Her current professional memberships include the American Society of Biomechanics, the American Academy of Orthotists and Prosthetists, and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).

Dr. Gates teaches biomechanics courses at the undergraduate and graduate level.