Papers
2
Total Citations
19
H-Index
2
About
Michelle McKerral’s research lies at the intersection of neurorehabilitation and assistive technology, with a primary focus on improving mobility and quality of life for individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI). Her work centers on the use of wearable robotic exoskeletons (WREs) to enable walking in long-term manual wheelchair users, addressing the severe cardiorespiratory, musculoskeletal, and endocrine-metabolic complications that arise from prolonged sedentary time. In a landmark self-controlled interventional study (2020, 12 citations), she developed and tested a 16-week overground walking program, demonstrating not only physiological benefits but also profound psychological and social gains. Her follow-up qualitative work (2024, 7 citations) captured the lived experiences of participants, revealing how regaining upright mobility reshaped their identities, autonomy, and hopes for community-based activity. McKerral’s contributions are notable for bridging rigorous clinical protocols with patient-centered perspectives, offering a roadmap for translating robotic exoskeleton interventions from lab to real-world settings. Her research has been instrumental in shifting the paradigm from passive wheelchair use to active, technology-enabled rehabilitation, inspiring new standards for chronic SCI care and adaptive physical activity programs.
Research Focus
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Top Papers
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