Director’s Welcome!

I-DAPT utilizes approaches from occupational therapy, rehabilitation science, rehabilitation engineering, and public health to assess and enhance the mobility, activity, and participation of people, communities, and populations for their meaningful, productive, and autonomous engagement in everyday life. To fulfill this mission, we employ collaboration, creativity, cultural responsibility, scientific rigor, and optimism.

Welcome to the Institute for Driving, Activity, Participation, and Technology (I-DAPT)!

We appreciate your interest and invite you to peruse our site and reach out to us accordingly.

Located within the College of Public Health and Health Professions at the University of Florida, the Institute for Driving, Activity, Participation, and Technology (I-DAPT) was formed in 2021 under the leadership of Dr. Sherrilene Classen. Since 2002, the initial focus was on mobility in the form of driving-related research. As of 2021, the institute is strategically aligned to promote research and scholarship across the domains of mobility, activity, and participation. I-DAPT is currently comprised of four research labs. These labs are the Mobility, Activity and Participation (MAP) lab, led by Dr. Justin Mason, and the research focus is on driving and community mobility; the Youth and Young Adult Empowerment, Leadership, and Learning (YELL) lab, led by Dr. Jessica Kramer, to focus on tools and interventions to empower youth and young adults with developmental disabilities; the Healthy Aging and Functional Ability (HAFA) lab, led by Dr. CJ Liu, to focus on promoting health preventing care dependency for older adults; and the Technology and Occupational Performance (TOP) lab, led by Dr. Hongwu Wang, to focus on optimizing function for people with disabilities through the use of technology, robotics, and smart devices.

This institute showcases infrastructure, support, services, networks, and projects that continue to invite and enrich collaborations among scientists, clinicians, professionals, industry, and students interested in this area of scholarship. As you visit our website, you will recognize that we are renowned for our:

  • national, state, and/or foundation funded scientific projects or contracts
  • leadership in
    • driving rehabilitation science, screening, clinical/on-road/simulator assessments/interventions, autonomous vehicles, and community mobility
    • tools and interventions to empower youth and young adults with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities (IDD)
    • promoting independence in older adults
    • enhancing function and performance in people with disabilities through technology, robotics and smart devices
  • peer reviewed publications shaping the field of driving rehabilitation, IDD, gerontology, and people with disabilities
  • active contributions to (inter)national scientific conferences, symposia, and colloquia
  • presence on expert panels
  • awards and rewards received by faculty
  • mentoring of undergraduate, graduate, PhD students, and post-docs
  • clinician-scientist models
  • state of the art equipment
  • cutting edge technology
  • collaborations with universities, hospitals, institutes/ centers, and industry
  • authoring books and book chapters

We hope that you are excited about collaborating with us—and that you will contact us to further optimize driving and community mobility, engage people in meaningful activities, and ensure equitable participation for diverse populations 21 Century!

To discuss collaborative or other opportunities, please contact me directly at sclassen@phhp.ufl.edu.

Sincerely,

Sherrilene Classen, PhD, MPH, OTR/L, FAOTA, FGSA
Professor and Chair: Department of Occupational Therapy
Director: Institute for Driving, Activity, Participation, and Technology