Our Members

Melissa Gross, Ph. D., has been on the faculty at the University of Michigan School of Kinesiology since 1991, and is currently an associate professor of Movement Science and director of the Behavioral Biomechanics Laboratory. Dr. Gross also holds an appointment as an associate professor in the Stamps School of Art and Design. She completed her Ph.D. in Kinesiology (Biomechanics) at the University of California Los Angeles. Dr. Gross has published more than 40 articles in peer-reviewed journals, including Journal of Biomechanics and Journal of Applied Biomechanics. She has served two terms on the editorial board for the Journal of Applied Biomechanics, and she is a manuscript reviewer for Anatomical Sciences Education, Clinical Biomechanics, and Gait and Posture. Dr. Gross is also a fellow and past president of the American Society of Biomechanics. She has received more than $1.5 million in grant funding from organizations such as the National Institute of Health (NIH), National Science Foundation (NSF), and Veterans Affairs Rehabilitation Research and Development. She served as the Associate Dean for Research in the School of Kinesiology from 2006-2010. In 2014 Dr. Gross received the Arthur F. Thurnau Professorship, which "recognizes and rewards faculty for outstanding contributions to undergraduate education." She has been a member on several university committees focused on academic innovation and digital education, and was director of Innovative Teaching and Learning for the School of Kinesiology from 2013-2019. She is currently serving on the Executive Committee for the Michigan Center for Interprofessional Education at the University of Michigan (IPE video). She also served as the faculty director of the University of Michigan Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) program from 2019-2024.