Dr. Kinda Khalaf

Dr. Kinda Khalaf is currently the Associate Dean of the College of Medicine and Health Sciences at Khalifa University of Science and Technology in Abu Dhabi, where for the last 10 years she served as founding Interim chair and associate Chair and accreditation leader of the Department of Biomedical Engineering. Prior to joining KU, she held faculty appointments in Engineering and Medicine at the University of Miami (Florida, USA), the American University of Beirut (Lebanon), where she held the first joint appointment between the faculties of Engineering and Medicine, and the American University of Sharjah (UAE). Dr Khalaf is a US National Merit Scholar and is on the list of International Who is Who of Professionals since 2012. She has been awarded the prestigious LAMME Scholarship, the Woman of Engineering Award for outstanding Academic Achievement, the Presidential Fellowship Award, the University of Miami College of Engineering Teaching Award, and the Khalifa University Faculty Excellence award. Dr. Khalaf is currently the director of the Gait Lab and the Rehabilitation Lab at KU. Her research focus spans neuromusculoskeletal biomechanics and control, computational biomechanics, biorobotics, and innovation in biomedical wearables, sensors, and devices. Her research record is reflected in over 200 publications in high impact journals, conference proceedings and book chapters, patents, multiple national and international research grants, multidisciplinary keynote speeches and lectures, in addition to the regular organization and chairmanship of local and international conferences. An advocate of innovation in engineering and medical education, she has co-established an interdisciplinary education research group focusing on implementing curricular innovative pedagogies and the design of quantitative assessment instruments and employability skills in engineering and medical programs. She serves on the Board of Trustees for Emirates College of Technology since 2021, Siemens Healthineers Innovation Think Tank since 2020 and is on the review board of the Abu Dhabi Council for Education (ADEK) Programs since 2019. In 2021, Dr. Khalaf co-founded a startup company AL MASHYAH for smart sensor-based and markerless gait and motion assessment platforms (www.mashyah.com). Since then, the company was awarded the Khalifa Innovation Center (KIC) Award, the Mohamad Bin Rashid AL Maktoum Innovation Award, and the MENA Silicon Valley Award in 2022 and 2023, respectively. Dr. Khalaf has served as founder and chairperson of the UAE branch of the Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (IEEE, EMBS), and is a founding member of the IEEE education chapter in the UAE (IEEE EDUCON). She is a member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), American Society of Biomechanics (ASB), American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE), Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES), Tau Beta Pi (Honorary Engineering Society), Pi Tau Sigma (Honorary Mechanical Engineering Society), Alpha Eta Mu Beta (Honorary Biomedical Engineering Society), the Society of Women Engineers (SWE), and the International Institute of Women Engineers (IIWE). She brings a unique set of skills and expertise in the biomedical sciences and engineering, as well as the establishment of multidisciplinary programs across specialties.