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University research directory
Research labs at
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor.
Compare 5 listed faculty-led profiles, explore their research interests, and follow the evidence in their selected work. These listings are a starting point for discovery and do not establish recruiting availability.
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Review each lab’s official website and recent publications. Compare the methods used, the questions being asked, and the practical requirements of any published opening. Unclaimed profiles are independently curated; the university has not approved or endorsed them.
How to compare research labs ↗Official university website ↗5 research-led lab profiles
Browse labs by their listed college affiliationAimée T. Classen Research Group
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
Aimée T. Classen · Professor
How do warming and environmental change determine an ecosystem's response to shifting conditions? The lab studies how warming and environmental change reorganize ecological communities and alter the flows of carbon, water, and nutrients through ecosystems. Researchers examine partnerships between plants and fungi that shape soil carbon storage and mediate ecosystem reorganization under warming. The group combines long-term experiments, field studies, global research networks, and ecological synthesis to understand ecosystem change. The lab leads coordinated research across nine mountains on five continents through the Warming and Removal in Mountains (WaRM) network to explore plant–warming interactions.
Allen Liu Research Group
University of Michigan-Ann ArborAllen Liu · Professor of Mechanical Engineering
How do engineered hydrogels and mechanical devices control cell behavior in tissue models? The lab builds devices such as a cell stretcher to apply controlled mechanical stimuli and a stage-top incubator station for live-cell imaging. Researchers in the group pursue biochemical and materials projects, including work with Protein Chemistry and Engineering trainees. The group sponsors student design projects such as a 3D printer for hydrogel and other prototyping efforts showcased at ME450 design expos. Graduate and undergraduate researchers from Mechanical Engineering and Biomedical Engineering prototype instruments and perform experiments to link mechanical inputs to cellular responses.
Jenna Wiens Research Group
University of Michigan-Ann ArborJenna Wiens · Professor
How can hospital data support useful clinical decisions when measurements are incomplete and model predictions can be unreliable? The group develops machine-learning approaches using patient images, laboratory tests and vital signs. Research includes predicting infections and other patient outcomes, learning treatment policies with causal inference and offline reinforcement learning, and evaluating how clinicians respond to AI recommendations. Another direction investigates selective prediction: withholding potentially unreliable outputs to reduce automation bias. The work connects algorithm design with the practical effects of deploying models in clinical workflows.
Independently curated · UnclaimedRobert D. Gregg IV Research Group
University of Michigan-Ann ArborRobert D. Gregg IV · Professor
Can wearable robotic devices move with users across variable tasks and environments without preset activity classification? The laboratory develops phase-based control for prosthetic legs that continuously follows a user's thigh motion across speeds, slopes, and stairs. Researchers create task-agnostic exoskeleton controllers that change the physics the wearer feels so assistance follows voluntary movement without activity classification. The group designs high-torque, low-impedance actuators that remain backdrivable while producing necessary joint torque for wearable devices. Measured laboratory outcomes include lower quadriceps effort and reduced compensatory hip moments in participant studies.
Wittkopp Lab
University of Michigan-Ann ArborPatricia Wittkopp · Deborah E. Goldberg Distinguished University Professor
Which genetic changes explain why related organisms develop different visible traits? The group investigates how the regulation of gene expression evolves within and between species. Research combines molecular, developmental and quantitative genetics to connect changes in DNA regulation with differences in development. One focus examines the evolution of pigmentation in Drosophila, while another considers patterns of regulatory change across whole genomes. The work links particular genetic changes to broader evolutionary processes, examining how variation in gene activity contributes to differences among organisms.
Showing 1–5 of 5 labs