Expertise
Balance and Gait in Aging and Impaired Populations; Rehabilitation Utilizing Assistive Robotics, Sensory Substitution, and Virtual Reality TrainingResearch Interests
- Rehabilitation Utilizing Assistive Robotics, Sensory Substitution, and Virtual Reality Training
- Balance and Gait in Aging and Impaired Populations
- Balance and Mobility in Able-Bodied Individuals
- Human Performance
- Rehabilitative devices, Prosthetics, and Social Robotics
- Student-Perceptual & Educational Research tied to STEM
Education
Doctor of Philosophy: Biomedical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology (HST)Master of Science: Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering (Chancellor’s List), Stanford University
Bachelor of Science: Mechanical Engineering (Summa Cum Laude), University of Massachusetts Lowell
Biosketch
A native to the Boston area, Professor Thompson earned her bachelor of science in mechanical engineering from the University of Massachusetts Lowell (UMass Lowell). She then went on to pursue a master of science in aeronautical and astronautical engineering at Stanford University. After working for over two years at Charles Stark Draper Laboratory as a mechanical engineer, she pursued and obtained her doctoral degree from the Harvard - Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) division of Health Sciences and Technology (HST) in biomedical engineering. Her doctoral research was the first to demonstrate that a vestibular-based sensory prosthetic can improve the ability to maintain balance during head-turns.
Prior to joining UMass Lowell as a professor of biomedical engineering, she was a professor of mechanical engineering and was the founding director of the biomedical engineering program (the first Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) accredited bachelor of science in biomedical engineering program at a historically black college and university (HBCU)) and the Center for Biomechanical & Rehabilitation Engineering (CBRE) (a state-of-the-art research facility focused on human mobility) at the University of the District of Columbia (UDC) in Washington, DC where she served as a faculty for 12 years. Further, as the sole principal investigator of a National Institutes of Health C06 grant, she led the design of a new, expansive, multi-laboratory facility (a specialized center for assistive rehabilitation research) aimed to focus on gait and balance, assistive robotics, virtual reality and biomechanics.
Professor Thompson is a 2022 recipient of the National Science Foundation Alan T. Waterman award, our nation’s top honor for early career scientists and engineers. Since the Alan T. Waterman award’s inception in 1975, she was the first awardee from a HBCU, and further, she was the first self-identified female of color recipient. She has experience trailblazing new research initiatives and educational programs and spearheading new infrastructure tied to biomedical engineering. Professor Thompson is excited to bring these experiences toward her alma mater, UMass Lowell.
Selected Awards and Honors
- American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) Fellow (2026)
- Blavatnik National Awards 2023 Nominee (2023)
- Alan T. Waterman Award Laureate 2022: awarded the highest national honor for early-career scientists and engineers from the National Science Foundation; the award comes with $1 million grant (2022)
- 2019 BEYA STEM Innovator Award National Recognition (2019)
- Diverse Issues in Higher Education Emerging Scholar National Award (2017)