Riann Palmieri-Smith, PhD, ATC, FNATA, FNAK

Riann Palmieri-Smith, PhD, ATC, FNATA, FNAK, is a professor of athletic training in the University of Michigan School of Kinesiology and an associate professor of orthopedic surgery. She directs the Orthopedic Rehabilitation & Biomechanics (ORB) Laboratory, chairs the athletic training program, and is a co-director of the Human Performance & Sport Science Center.

Dr. Palmieri-Smith is an athletic trainer, rehabilitation scientist, and biomechanist whose work centers on anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury. Her research asks why muscle weakness and altered movement persist after ACL injury and reconstruction. She then develops and tests rehabilitation strategies, built on those underlying mechanisms, to restore muscle strength, normalize joint loading, and protect long-term cartilage health. Her laboratory combines biomechanics, neurophysiology, and imaging with randomized clinical trials to evaluate new interventions. These include high-intensity neuromuscular electrical stimulation, eccentric exercise, functional resistance training, split-belt treadmill training, and neuromodulation of the brain and spinal cord. Her work also addresses arthrogenic muscle inhibition, post-traumatic osteoarthritis, and sex differences in ACL injury risk.

She has published more than 120 peer-reviewed articles. Her research has been supported by more than $5 million in funding from the National Institutes of Health, NFL Charities, and other organizations. She led MiACLR, an NIH-funded randomized clinical trial in ACL rehabilitation and currently co-leads Mi-SPA, an NIH-funded study of split-belt treadmill training to improve knee loading after ACL reconstruction.

Her experience as a certified athletic training keeps her research focused on questions that matter for patient care. She is an associate editor of Sports Health and serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of Athletic Training and the Journal of Applied Biomechanics. She served on the NFL Musculoskeletal Research Committee, NATA-REF Research Committee, and co-chairs the University of Michigan Health and Behavioral Sciences IRB. She is a Fellow of the National Athletic Trainers' Association and of the National Academy of Kinesiology.

She earned her PhD in sports medicine from the University of Virginia, her MS in athletic training from Indiana State University, and her BS in athletic training from California University of Pennsylvania.