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Associate Professor, Department of Rehabilitation Science
University at Buffalo
I do not have any relevant financial / non-financial relationships with any proprietary interests.
My name is Jim Lenker, and I am an associate professor in the Department of Rehabilitation Science at the University at Buffalo. I have dual backgrounds in human factors engineering and occupational therapy, as well as 30 years of experience in federally funded, collaborative research projects, all of which are well suited to the clinically oriented nature of this project. My background as an occupational therapist and assistive technology practitioner sensitizes me to the needs of people with disabilities in their everyday living situations, which grounds me to the realities of conducting research in community-based contexts. My PhD in human factors engineering provides a rigorous foundation in problem analysis, creative design solutions, usability evaluation, and research methodologies. For the past 22 years I have studied the impact of assistive devices and environmental features on people with disabilities as they complete daily tasks involving, for example, community mobility and computer usage. Much of my work has involved federally funded project collaborations with faculty in a diversity of departments at the University at Buffalo (e.g., Industrial & Systems Engineering; Architecture) in the areas of public transportation, consumer product design, and public rights-of-way. I have also been a Co-Investigator on several AT outcomes research grants involving geographically dispersed groups of university collaborators (e.g., University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee; Duke University; University of Ottawa, University of Montreal).
