PROJECTS //

Healthy Home Lab

Bringing the best science into the home.

In the fall of 2022, the University opened its innovative Healthy Home Lab, turning a 105-year-old Oakland house into a research lab for the development of technology, assessments and interventions to support aging in place.

The US Department of Housing and Urban Development awarded the project a $918,709 grant in October to reduce environmental hazards in residential settings to allow more people to age safely in their homes. A multi-disciplinary team from Pitt’s Schools of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences (SHRS), Public Health and Engineering, and community partners are using the grant to build a new module for assessing residential environmental hazards including monitoring indoor air quality and detecting mold.

Teams from the Departments of Occupational Therapy and Rehabilitation Science and Technology within SHRS as well as Civil and Environmental Engineering from the Swanson School of Engineering collaborate here to develop solutions to challenges of aging such as climbing stairs and smart home technology implementation.

The laboratory brings the best science into home settings to maximize health and safety. It designs, develops and evaluates new and existing technologies, advancing healthy home services and interventions, and creating comprehensive health and environmental assessments to help people live safely and independently at home.

If you are interested in partnering, contributing or joining the Healthy Home Laboratory, email HealthyHomeLab@pitt.edu

Sukritta Suksawang, a graduate student in the Department of Bioengineering of the Swanson School of Engineering, works on a project utilizing smart technology to bolster the independence and safety of older adults with a mentor, Yong Choi, an assistant professor in the Department of Health Information Management in the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences.

Jemima Ohwobete, a PhD student and researcher in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Swanson School of Engineering, works with Joseph Engelmeier, an environmental health researcher and graduate student in the School of Public Health, to review the indoor air quality devices at the Healthy Home Lab.