Dagmar Sternad
University Distinguished Professor,
Biology
University Distinguished Professor,
Electrical and Computer Engineering
Affiliated Faculty,
Bioengineering
Affiliated Faculty,
Physics
Contact
- d.sternad@northeastern.edu
- 503 Richards Hall
360 Huntington Avenue
Boston, Massachusetts 02115
Office
- 617.373.5093
Research Focus
Motor control and learning, variability and stability, virtual rehabilitation, dynamic modeling, rhythmic and discrete movements as primitives for action
About
Dagmar Sternad received the BS in Movement Science and Linguistics from the Technical University of Munich and the PhD in Experimental Psychology from the University of Connecticut. From 1995 until 2008, she was Assistant, Associate, and Full Professor at the Pennsylvania State University in Kinesiology and Integrative Biosciences. At Northeastern, she holds an interdisciplinary appointment in the departments of Biology and Electrical and Computer Engineering with affiliated appointments in Bioengineering and Physics. Her research in computational neuroscience and motor control focuses on learning and control of sensorimotor coordination in humans, both in healthy and neurologically impaired individuals. This work spans behavioral experiments with mathematical models of control and nonlinear dynamics, bridging biology with engineering and physics. The results are documented in over 80 publications in scientific journals and several books. The research has been continuously supported by grants from the National Institute of Health, the National Science Foundation and Office of Naval Research.
The central interest of research in the Action Lab is the control and coordination of goal-directed human behavior. Adopting a systems-level approach we aim to reveal the organizational principles of the nervous system in interaction with the mechanical system of the body and the environment. Our research strategy intertwines behavioral experiments on human subjects with theoretical work using mathematical models of movement generation. The theoretical approach views the actor in the environment as a dynamical system, which is high-dimensional and nonlinear. Our experimental research focuses on single- and multi- joint human movements including upper limb manipulation tasks and locomotion examined in virtual environments. We have extended these experimental paradigms to study the elderly and patients with neurological disorders such as Parkinson’s disease.
Honors & Awards
- 2021-22 Fulbright Award to research “Variability and Redundancy in Motor Learning” at the Santa Lucia Foundation at the University of Rome Tor Vergata, Italy
- Klein Lectureship Award
- Distinguished Lecturer on Life and the Sciences of Complexity, Center for the Ecological Study of Perception and Action
Research Overview
Motor control and learning, variability and stability, virtual rehabilitation, dynamic modeling, rhythmic and discrete movements as primitives for action
Predictability in complex object control, Hierarchical coordination of complex actions, Learning to control dynamically complex objects, Neural basis of motor expertise, Characterization of predictive abilities in individuals with ASD using web-based interactive games
Action Lab
Research in the Action Lab is dedicated to the experimental and theoretical study of human motor control and learning. Our experiments collect kinematic and kinetic data, complemented by electromyographic and encephalographic data. Physical models of the task and their mathematical analysis provide understanding task solutions as basis for insight into human control.
Selected Research Projects
- Predictability in Complex Object Control
- – Principal Investigator, National Institutes of Health
- Movement as a Vital Sign in Preterm Infants
- – Investigator, National Science Foundation
- Collaborative Research: Learning to Control Dynamically Complex Objects
- – Co-Investigator, National Science Foundation
- Collaborative Research: Neural Basis of Motor Expertise
- – Principal Investigator, National Institutes of Health
- Collaborative Research: Towards Robots with Human Dexterity
- – Principal Investigator, National Science Foundation
- US-German-Israeli Collaborative Research: Hierarchical Coordination of Complex Actions
- – Principal Investigator, National Science Foundation
Research Centers and Institutes
Selected Publications
- Balasubramaniam, Ramesh, Haegens, Saskia, Jazayeri, Mehrdad, Merchant, Hugo, Sternad, Dagmar, Song, Joo-Hyun (2021). Neural Encoding and Representation of Time for Sensorimotor Control and Learning. Journal of Neuroscience, 41(5),866-872. 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1652-20.2020
- Bazzi, S. & Sternad, D. (2020). Human control of complex objects: towards more dexterous robots. Advanced Robotics, 34, 17, 1137-1155
- Bazzi, S., & Sternad, D. (2020). Robustness in human manipulation of dynamically-complex objects through control contraction metrics. IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters, 5, 2, 2578-2585. doi: 10.1109/LRA.2020.2972863
- Sharif Razavian, R., Bazzi, S., Nayeem, R., Sadeghi, M., & Sternad, D. (2021). Dynamic primitives and optimal feedback control for the manipulation of complex objects. IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA 2021), Xian, China and virtual, May 30-June 5.

Jan 31, 2025
Internal Models for Complex Object Control
COS/ECE University Distinguished Professor Dagmar Sternad published research on “Simplified Internal Models in Human Control of Complex Objects” in PLOS Computational Biology.
Jan 31, 2025
2024 Stanford University Annual Assessment of Author Citations
The following COE professors are among the top scientists worldwide selected by Stanford University representing the top 2% of the most-cited scientists with single-year impact in various disciplines. The selection is based on the top 100,000 by c-score (with and without self-citations) or a percentile rank of 2% or above. The list below includes those who published a paper in 2024 or later.
Jul 08, 2024
Fall 2024 AJC Merit Research Scholars
Several engineering and science students mentored by COE faculty are recipients of Northeastern’s AJC Merit Research Scholarship, which will fund a July to December 2024 co-op in the laboratory of a Northeastern University STEM faculty member.
Dec 07, 2023
2023 Stanford University Annual Assessment of Author Citations
The following COE professors are among the top scientists worldwide selected by Stanford University representing the top 2% of the most-cited scientists with single-year impact in various disciplines. The selection is based on the top 100,000 by c-score (with and without self-citations) or a percentile rank of 2% or above.

Oct 18, 2023
Testing Extremes of Human Motor Control To Advance Robotics
Dagmar Sternad, University Distinguished Professor of biology, physics, and ECE, and her research group at Northeastern’s Action Lab, including mechanical engineering PhD student Mahdiar Edraki, are looking at extreme human movement to understand how humans manipulate complex objects, like whips.
Apr 27, 2023
Summer 2023 PEAK Experiences Awards for Undergrad Research
Several engineering and science students mentored by COE faculty are recipients of the Summer 2023 PEAK Experiences Awards from Northeastern’s Office of Undergraduate Research and Fellowships.

Feb 09, 2023
Active Video Games Can Improve Physical Therapy Results
Dagmar Sternad, University Distinguished Professor, COE/ECE, in collaboration with Amy Lu (lead), professor of communication studies, is studying the role that active video games could play in regaining your balance during physical therapy. The interdisciplinary team’s research was published in the Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.
Nov 02, 2022
2022 Stanford University Annual Assessment of Author Citations
A group of COE professors are among the top scientists worldwide selected by Stanford University representing the top 2% of the most-cited scientists with single-year impact in various disciplines. The selection is based on the top 100,000 by c-score (with and without self-citations) or a percentile rank of 2% or above.

Oct 04, 2022
When You Step Inside This Lab, You Must Whip It
Whip cracking can showcase “the pinnacle of human skill, and we as scientists do not understand it,” said Dagmar Sternad, a biologist and engineer at Northeastern University in Boston. (Featured […]
May 18, 2022
Summer 2022 PEAK Experiences Awardees for Undergrad Research
Several engineering and science students mentored by COE faculty are recipients of Northeastern’s Summer 2022 PEAK Experiences Awards from the Office of Undergraduate Research and Fellowships.