Rita Patterson

Rita Patterson, PhD is a Professor in Family Medicine and Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine at the Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine, University of North Texas Health Science Center. She serves as Associate Dean for Research, with a career spanning over three decades and 159 total research outputs.

• Education:
  • BS in Engineering Science, Baylor University
  • MEng in Biomedical Engineering, Texas A&M University
  • PhD in Biomedical Science, University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston

Her research focuses on musculoskeletal function in human performance, particularly rehabilitation treatments for abnormal motion. She employs video motion capture, point-of-care data, and computational modeling to study:

• Balance mechanisms in elderly patients
• Rehabilitation for unilateral lower-limb prostheses
• Virtual reality applications in post-stroke recovery
• Biomechanics of diabetic foot complications
• Professional dancer posture analysis
• Spatial conflict tasks across age groups

As principal investigator, her recent sponsored projects include:

• AI-driven fall prediction systems (2024)
• MAVHEXO exoskeleton for stroke rehab (2019-2020)
• Human Movement Lab upgrades (2017)

Her collaborative network spans institutions like Johns Hopkins University and Neurological Rehab Virtual Reality, LLC, working with co-investigators including Nicoleta Bugnariu, James Knebl, and Karen Campbell.