August 24, 2026
Live in Motion Foundation is pleased to announce Brian Hafner PhD. as the recipient of the 2026 Pilot Research Grant, a $30,000 award supporting innovative research with the potential to advance orthotic, prosthetic, and pedorthic care.
The Pilot Research Grant helps investigators generate the preliminary evidence needed to build strong, competitive research programs and pursue larger-scale funding from agencies such as the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI), and Department of Defense (DOD). Projects are selected based on scientific rigor, clinical relevance, and alignment with the Foundation’s research priorities.
Through investments like the Pilot Research Grant, Live in Motion Foundation works to accelerate meaningful research, strengthen the evidence base for care, and move promising ideas toward solutions that improve mobility, independence, and quality of life.
Dr. Brian Hafner is a Professor in the University of Washington Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Adjunct Professor in the UW Department of Mechanical Engineering, Director of Research for the UW Division of Prosthetics & Orthotics, and Director of the UW Center on Outcomes Research in Rehabilitation (UWCORR). He has a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Oklahoma State University, a PhD in Bioengineering from UW, and a Certificate in Prosthetics from Northwestern University.
Dr. Hafner’s primary research interests include improving measurement of health-related outcomes, evaluating the efficacy and effectiveness of orthotic & prosthetic technologies, and assessing function, health, and quality-of-life in people with disabling health conditions.
His recent research efforts have focused on measurement of mobility and fall-related health outcomes in people with limb loss. He has authored or co-authored more than 130 peer-reviewed scientific publications and more than 300 presentations at local, national, and international scientific meetings.
Can microprocessor-enabled prostheses improve our understanding of prosthesis users’ functioning in the real world?
“I am grateful to the Live in Motion Foundation for their support of our research. This 2026 Pilot Award will allow us to determine whether sensors, like those onboard contemporary microprocessor-enabled prostheses, can improve our knowledge of users’ balance, mobility, and physical activity. This work has the potential to significantly advance our understanding of how patients choose to use their prostheses in their homes and communities. I am excited to work with my collaborators from UW and PROTEOR USA on this important project.”