Ben Mortenson

Ben Mortenson is an Associate Professor and Department Head at the Department of Occupational Science & Occupational Therapy, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, with an adjunct appointment at Simon Fraser University. His research focuses on aging, assistive technology, spinal cord injury, and social participation, supported by affiliations with the Centre for Aging SMART and ICORD research clusters.

• B.Sc. Occupational Therapy (University of Alberta)
• M.Sc. Rehabilitation Sciences (UBC)
• Ph.D. Rehabilitation Sciences (UBC)
• Post-Doctoral Fellowships: University of Montreal & Simon Fraser University

His research integrates disability studies, rehabilitation science, and human-centered technology design, emphasizing community-based participatory research and interdisciplinary collaboration. Recent projects examine pandemic impacts on disability populations, power-assist wheelchair technologies, and virtual reality applications for dementia care.

Key trends in his 2024-2025 publications include:

• Poststroke rehabilitation with wearable devices
• Accessibility solutions for childcare services
• Walkability/wheelability assessment tools
• Self-management programs for spinal cord injury
• Virtual reality in long-term care
• Mental health impacts of pandemic restrictions

Scientific recognitions include the CIHR New Investigator Award (2016-2021) and the 2021 Award for Innovative Practice from the Canadian Association of Occupational Therapy. He supervises graduate students like Haopu (Lily) Ren, whose work explores interdisciplinary dementia care technology implementation.

As Principal Investigator at ICORD, he leads studies such as the dEMAND Study, INTOCARE Study, and SCOOT Study, focusing on mobility, aging, and assistive technology outcomes.