Megan O'Brien

Megan O'Brien is a Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, based at the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab in Chicago. Her work bridges engineering, biomechanics, and rehabilitation science to develop technology-driven solutions for improving patient outcomes across clinical and home settings.

Dr. O'Brien's educational background includes:

• BS in Engineering from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology (2009)
• MS from University of Colorado (2012)
• PhD from University of Colorado (2014)
• Postdoctoral Fellowship in Rehabilitation Technology and Outcomes at Shirley Ryan AbilityLab / Northwestern University (2019)

Her research leverages sensors and mobile technologies to identify disease-specific biomarkers through interdisciplinary applications of biomechanics, machine learning, and engineering. Key focus areas include:

• Rehabilitation Engineering
• Sleep Health Monitoring
• Pediatric Rehabilitation Technologies
• Wearable Device Integration
• Machine Learning for Clinical Outcomes

Recent 2025 publications reveal a strong translational emphasis on acute rehabilitation (e.g., stroke sleep interventions), pediatric applications (e.g., wearable-based complication prediction), and systematic reviews of infant assessment tools. These studies demonstrate consistent use of multimodal sensing and real-world data analytics to bridge clinic-to-home care gaps.

Dr. O'Brien maintains external professional relationships with Northwestern University regarding royalty payments for inventions, but specific grant details and advisees are not disclosed in the available profile.

She operates within the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab ecosystem and the Northwestern University Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute (NUCATS), collaborating with interdisciplinary teams of clinicians, engineers, and data scientists to advance rehabilitation technology implementation.