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About

Grace Yao is a leading researcher in stroke rehabilitation, specializing in robot-assisted therapy and its integration with mirror therapy and bilateral arm training to restore upper limb function. Her seminal 2012 study on the dose–response relationship of robot-assisted motor rehabilitation (91 citations) established foundational evidence for quantifying therapy intensity in stroke recovery, demonstrating that higher doses of robotic training yield proportional functional gains. Yao’s recent work focuses on robotic priming—using robotic therapy to prepare the brain for subsequent task-oriented training—with her 2023 study showing that combining robotic priming with mirror therapy and movement-oriented therapy significantly improves arm function in chronic stroke patients. Her comparative efficacy trial (2021, 17 citations) further demonstrated that robotic priming of bilateral approaches outperforms standard therapy. Yao has also developed and validated outcome measures for bilateral upper limb function, enhancing assessment precision in clinical trials. With over 140 total citations, her research bridges engineering and neurorehabilitation, offering clinicians evidence-based protocols to maximize motor recovery. Her work is particularly notable for translating robotic technology into practical, patient-centered interventions that address persistent disability in chronic stroke survivors.