Priyadarshini Pennathur

Priyadarshini Pennathur is an Associate Professor in the Department of Industrial, Manufacturing, and Systems Engineering at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP). Her research focuses on healthcare systems, human factors engineering, and work design in the context of emerging technologies like AI and exoskeletons. She leads initiatives in interdisciplinary research and education (IDRE), emphasizing community engagement and global health equity.

Her expertise spans healthcare information systems, patient and provider safety, burnout mitigation, and accessibility in public health communication. Notable projects include evaluating occupational exoskeletons for injury prevention and analyzing telemedicine's impact on provider well-being. She also explores societal implications of AI on office work and the future of work systems.

Dr. Pennathur's work integrates human factors principles with healthcare documentation systems and emergency department workflows. She has pioneered studies on PPE doffing strategies during pandemics and developed electronic health record templates to improve pediatric ICU referrals. Her research is supported by ProQuest/Pivot funding opportunities and has been featured in news outlets.

She is actively involved in STEM education initiatives, such as the Systems Engineering Initiative for Student Success (SEISS) and the Sociotechnical Systems Perspective of Underrepresented Minority Student Success. Her lab, the Faculty Launch Research Lab, focuses on human performance engineering in healthcare and work systems.