Michael Boninger, MD, a renowned researcher in spinal cord injury and assistive technology, is director of the UPMC Rehabilitation Institute.
The author of five U.S. patents, Dr. Boninger is recognized for his extensive research on spinal cord injury, assistive technology and overuse injuries, particularly those associated with manual wheelchair propulsion. He currently receives research funding from the National Institutes of Health, the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research, the U.S. Department of Defense, the U.S. Army’s Telemedicine and Advanced Technology Research Center, and the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs.
Dr. Boninger also is director of Pitt’s Model Center on Spinal Cord Injury and medical director of the Human Engineering Research Laboratories (HERL), a joint venture among UPMC, the University of Pittsburgh and the VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System, and designated a “Center of Excellence for Wheelchairs and Related Technology” by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
In addition, Dr. Boninger serves as chair of the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine’s Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, which currently is ranked No. 1 in research funding from the National Institutes of Health. Also at the University of Pittsburgh, he is the School of Medicine’s associate dean for medical student research and holds secondary appointments in the School of Engineering and School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences.