About
The Healthy Home Laboratory
About
The Healthy Home Laboratory
About
The Healthy Home Laboratory
Our Vision & Mission
Our collective vision is a world where all individuals can age independently and safely in the comfort of their home and enjoy healthy and vibrant lives at home and in their community.
Our mission is to create and implement new technology solutions and support services that enable people to live independently and safely at home.
Our Motivation
As the old saying goes “Home is where the heart is.” When we consider that people now spend more than 80% of their waking and sleeping hours at home, it is even more true that “Home is where the health is.” While the home symbolizes security and supports good health, for too many, home can be a source of unhealthy conditions, safety risks, and exposure to environmental hazards. We strive to make all homes a source of health and well-being.
By 2050, the U.S. population over 65 will almost double to reach 83.7 million, and the number of people 85 and over living alone will quadruple. Approximately 90% of older adults and people with disabilities prefer to remain in their homes and age-in-place. However, according to U.S. Census Bureau, nationally, only about 10% of homes are “aging-ready”, and in the northeastern U.S. in places like Pittsburgh that percentage falls to just over 5%, with most homes constructed before the 1930’s.
Older homes were not designed to support individuals as they age and pose unique challenges and barriers for aging-in-place. These homes often:
- have steep and narrow entry steps and stairways, bedrooms and full bathrooms on the second floor, and lack any type of accessibility features,
- expose individuals to environmental pollutants and chemicals due to antiquated building methods, creating a risk for poor health outcomes, and
- require a considerable number of modifications to accommodate aging and disability needs, and insurance coverage for these modifications is often limited.
To tackle these challenges, we launched the Healthy Home Laboratory (HHL). The HHL is a community laboratory that brings the best science into home settings to maximize human health and safety. We believe that with the appropriate combination of evidence-based support services, home modifications, and technology, individuals can age independently and safely in their own home.
Key resources:
State of Aging Report – Allegheny County
America Housing Aging Readiness Report
Housing (In)Adequacy Index: How Do US Metros Rank?
Improving America’s Housing 2023
Aging My Way PA (10 year PA blueprint for aging)
The University of Pittsburgh has acquired a 100+ year-old demonstration home for the HHL that typifies the older housing stock where many people live.
Our HHL house serves as a community-based laboratory to research, design, develop, evaluate and implement technology, assessments, services, and interventions. Combined with the University’s world-class research and development facilities, the HHL is a living laboratory for real-world interventions and best practices on how to adapt and equip a home to support individuals as they age and as their needs and abilities change at various stages of their life.
Meet Our Team
Founded in 1787, the University of Pittsburgh is among the nation’s top research universities, and we excel at solving complex health challenges through interdisciplinary scientific collaborations and partnerships. As housing has emerged as a key social determinant of health, teams from across the university have come together to focus our collective energies on maximizing the impact of the home on health and well-being.
Pamela Toto
Pam is an occupational therapist with clinical, teaching and research expertise in reducing and delaying disability in older adults. Pam is the Director of the HHL and a senior leader in implementing evidence-based programs to promote successful aging in place.
Steven Handler
Medical Director, Healthy Home Laboratory
Steve is a geriatric medicine physician and expert in translational informatics. Steve collaborates with several of the HHL investigators to ensure clinical relevance and consider Veteran-centric perspectives.
Jon Pearlman
Jon is an engineer, an entrepreneur, and an expert in assistive health technology design and evaluation. Jon is the Technical Director of the HHL and helps to grow collaborations to scale the impact of the HHL activities.
Steven Albert
Steve is a public health gerontologist interested in the social determinants of health. His research examines the value of aging services, such as subsidies for prescriptions and housing, to prevent disability in old age. He works with HHL on next generation assessment tools that can be used by aging services providers.
William Ammer
Bill is an engineer and craftsman. He is an expert in wheelchair design and testing. Bill contributes to the design and fabrication of the innovations from the HHL.
Scott Beach
Scott has expertise in family caregiving, aging and technology, and survey research methodology. He provides access to community members for testing HHL technologies; and supports data collection, statistical analyses and evaluation activities.
Christopher Briem
Christopher is a regional economist at the University Center for Social and Urban Research with over 20 years of experience studying regional competitiveness and demographics. Chris advises the HHL on demographics of aging and demographic change trends in the Pittsburgh region.
Dave Brienza
Dave is an engineer, clinical researcher, and expert in developing and evaluating rehabilitation technology. He works with HHL team members to identify product needs and opportunities and to develop solutions to fill those needs.
Yong Choi
Yong is a health informatics researcher and expert in digital health and smart home technologies. He works with HHL team members to design and evaluate smart home solutions to support the successful aging-in-place of older adults and to assist their family care partners using human-centered design and co-design methodologies.
Anthony Delitto
Tony is a physical therapist and Dean of the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences. He brings together practitioners and researchers and collaborates on HHL projects.
Dan Ding
DD is an engineer and expert in inclusive smart technology design and evaluation. DD directs the PROMISE RERC on Wireless Technologies.
Heidi Donovan
Heidi is a nurse, scientist, and caregiver with expertise in designing ehealth interventions to support families managing cancer and other chronic illnesses. Heidi co-directs the National Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Family Support (NCFS) to advance family caregiving research policy and practice.
Joel Fadness
Joel is an engineer, inventor, designer, drummer, keyboardist, and music producer. He collaborates on the engineering, design, and building of hardware prototypes for the HHL and enjoys brainstorming solutions.
Julie Faieta
Julie is a clinician scientist with a background in occupational therapy. Her work with the HHL team stems from her experience in smart technology evaluation for cognitively impaired populations.
Jack Fried
Jack is a mechanical engineer and recent graduate of Pitt’s Master of Rehabilitation Technology program. He is excited to join the HHL team as a research engineer for the PROMISE RERC on Wireless Technologies focusing on integrating mainstream smart technologies within the HHL home to assess and innovate accessibility in the home.
Sarah Haig
Sarah is an environmental engineer and microbiologist who is an expert in assessing environmental exposures (chemical and biological) in air, dust and water in the built environment. Sarah has helped secure project funding for the HHL to assess indoor air quality and Mold burden which can be integrated into a Healthy Home Assessment tool.
Todd Hargroder
Todd is a serial entrepreneur with lived experience as a wheelchair user, has designed and commercialized Assistive Technology for over 35 years. Todd provides expert insight on product design, development and commercialization for the HHL.
Meredith Hughes
Meredith is a trained attorney and policy expert in Medicaid, aging services, and long-term care. She provides state and federal regulatory research and analytical support for the HHL team.
Everette James
Everette is a policy expert, lawyer, and former Pennsylvania Secretary of Health. He secures project funding and works for the HHL team to understand the reimbursement and regulatory environment for each product and service.
Patricia Karg
Tricia is an engineer with expertise in clinical research and the evaluation of assistive technology performance and safety. She serves the HHL team as Director of Product Testing and Evaluation.
Carissa Low
Carissa is a behavioral scientist and expert in mobile sensing of health and functioning. She is the Director of Mobile Sensing & Health Institute (MOSHI) and works with the HHL team to consider the role of wearable and other patient-centered sensors in measuring activities in the home.
Christopher Matek
Chris is a Community Paramedic with over 35 years of EMS experience. Chris has been the director of Community Paramedic programs and is the lead faculty for community paramedicine in the Emergency Medicine Program at Pitt.
Jennifer McCartney
Jenn is a public health graduate student with expertise in healthcare architecture and design, policy advocacy, and street medicine. She assists in grant writing, fall prevention research, and graphic design for HHL.
Lindsey Morris
Lindsey is OTD, OTR/L is an occupational therapist and clinical research scientist. Her efforts focus on supporting the use of mainstream smart technologies and assistive technologies in occupation and community-based interventions to improve the health, participation, and quality of life of persons with disabilities and underserved populations.
Anne Newman
Anne is an expert in geriatric medicine and co-directs the Pitt Pepper Center. She consults with HHL project teams on physical and cognitive function, as well as successful aging and longevity.
Jemima (Mima) Ohwobete
Mima is a second-year environmental engineering PhD student in Sarah Haig’s research group. She leads the Mold detect and assessment work in the HHL and is broadly interested in how consumer choices and built environment factors impact the microbial exposures we face in our homes.
Bambang Parmanto
Bambang is a computer and information scientist and Chair of Pitt’s Department of Health Information Management. He co-leads the informatics team for the development and testing of tech-enabled assessment, caregiving and self-management tools.
Thomas Platt
Tom is an EMS educator with over 40 years of experience as a provider and Educator. Tom oversees the undergraduate program in emergency medicine.
Zachary Roy
Zach is a bioengineer, designer, artist, and graduate of the University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering. As an R&D Engineer and Project Coordinator for the HHL, Zach is directly involved with the design and development of multiple HHL assistive technology projects, the day-to-day operations of the lab space, and the facilitation of fruitful multidisciplinary collaborations with external partners.
Andi Saptono
Andi is a Health Informatics faculty at the University of Pittsburgh with an extensive experience in researching and developing Digital Health innovation and technologies. He co-leads the informatics team for the development and testing of a tech-enabled home assessment tool.
Mark Schmeler
Mark Is an Occupational Therapist, Assistive Technology Professional, and a longtime advocate for people with disabilities to live and participate in their communities with any and all necessary accommodations. He supports the HHL with his expertise and perspectives as a clinician, person with a disability, and policy researcher.
Portia Singh
Portia is a computer scientist and biomedical engineer with experience in building technology products for safe aging in place. Portia leads technology transfer for the Smart Home Division at the HHL.
Paulina Villacreces
Paulina is an industrial designer, ergonomist, and entrepreneur, with expertise in research, design, development, and evaluation of assistive technology for people with disabilities. She serves as the Director of Product Development for the HHL.
Zhendong (Tony) Wang
Zhendong (Tony) is a software engineer and AI export from Pitt SCI. He works for the HHL team to build the software system and incorporate new technology like Lidar Camera for 3D scanning and measurement.
Bronco York
Bronco is an electrical engineering with interests in electronics, software, human-centered design, and the intersection of engineering and human health. At the HHL, Bronco helps integrate smart home technologies into devices and prototyping of new solutions.
HHL Alumni
The HHL is committed to training faculty, staff, and students to support their career goals and objectives; below are the faculty, staff, and students who have moved into new roles after working at the HHL.
Rayhan Afsar
Rayhan was a mechanical engineer, roboticist, and expert in assistive technology development. He served as the Director of Engineering at HHL from December 2021 – May 2023. Rayhan currently serves as a Lead Research and Development Mechanical Engineer for General Electric.
Alexandra Delazio
Alex was a bioengineer and medical product engineer with a focus on product design, development, validation and verification. She served as Director of Product Testing and Evaluation from January-October 2022.
Alexandra Barret
Alex was a graduate student with a background in Biomedical Engineering. She was a student intern at HHL (Summer 2022). Alex is currently pursuing a master’s degree at the University of Pittsburgh in Prosthetics and Orthotics.
Dounia Hassar
Dounia was an engineer and designer passionate about assistive technologies. She was a student intern at HHL (Summer 2022). Dounia is currently pursuing a master’s degree at the University of Bern in Biomedical Engineering.
Piper Toto
Piper was a mechanical engineer. She was a student intern at HHL (Summer 2023). Piper is currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree at the University of Pittsburgh in Mechanical Engineering.
Wentao Wu
Wentao was a software engineer intern and a rising senior majoring in computer science. He investigated the accessibility and usability of various integration solutions of mainstream smart home technologies into the Healthy Home Laboratory.
Student Intern Summer 2022
Joey Engelmeier
Joey is an air quality specialist and MPH in Environmental & Occupational Health. Joey helped design and execute air monitoring studies in both the HHL and the homes of senior citizens across Allegheny County
Meet Our Partners
The work of the Healthy Home Laboratory is accomplished in partnership with industry,
government, non-profit and community stakeholders, and other academic institutions.
Meet Our Partners
The work of the Healthy Home Laboratory is accomplished in partnership with industry,
government, non-profit and community stakeholders, and other academic institutions.
