Dr. Michael Boninger is Professor and Chair of the Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, University of Pittsburgh. He is also the Associate Dean of Medical Student Research in the School of Medicine as well as the Director of the University of Pittsburgh Model Center on Spinal Cord Injury. In addition, he holds a secondary appointment as Professor in the School of Bioengineering. He works as the Medical Director for both the Center of Excellence in Wheelchairs and Related Technology, VA Pittsburgh Health Care System, and Human Engineering Research Laboratories, Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, University of Pittsburgh.
Dr. Boninger earned his medical degree at Ohio State University. He did residencies at first St. Joseph Mercy Hospital in Ann Arbor and then the University of Michigan Medical Center, where he became the Chief Resident, Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation. He came to the University of Pittsburgh when he won a postdoctoral fellowship in Engineering & Rehabilitation Technology in 1994.
Dr. Boninger is certified by both the American Board of Electrodiagnostic Medicine and the American Board of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation. He is a Board Member of the Association of Academic Physiatrists and the Association of Academic Physiatrists. In 2006 he was inducted into the National Spinal Cord Injury Association Hall of Fame. He is also active in the community, having served as a judge in the Think-a-Thon, held by Pittsburgh Public Schools, and in the First Lego League, Robotics Competition.
Dr. Boninger’s research interests include: medical student research educations; bioengineering of assistive technology; multiple sclerosis; wheelchair propulsion biomechanics; secondary disabilities in wheelchair users; upper extremity pain in wheelchair users; and diagnosis of carpal tunnel syndrome.
CONTACT INFORMATION
Michael L. Boninger, M.D.
Phone: (412) 648-6979
Email: boninger@pitt.edu