Center for Health Equity Research and Promotion

Profile

Kimberly Waddell, PhD, MSCI, OTR/L is a CHERP Core Investigator, and Assistant Professor of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation in the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine. Her research broadly explores how to improve the long-term health outcomes of adults with neurologic disease by leveraging insights from behavioral economics. Specifically, she focuses on applying behavioral economic principles to 1) help improve physical activity and disease self-management for adults with neurologic disease and 2) improve the translation of in-clinic improvements to daily life for adults receiving rehabilitation services. This work includes wearable devices and remote monitoring technologies. She has a growing interest in using administrative data to better understand post-stroke recovery, disability, and identifying patient populations who may benefit from remote monitoring interventions to improve overall health.

Dr. Waddell completed a VA Advanced Postdoctoral Research Fellowship and was recruited to join CHERP and Penn in 2022. She led a successful CHERP pilot project, Feasibility of a Remote Physical Activity Program for Rural Veterans with Neurological Disease in 2021, in addition to several other projects and publications.

Dr. Waddell received her PhD in Movement Science and her Master's degree in Clinical Investigation from Washington University in St. Louis, MO. She received her Master's degree in Occupational Therapy from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.