Yochai Eisenberg
Associate Professor, Disability and Human Development
Associate Professor, Rehabilitation Sciences
Focus Areas
Office Phone
Office
1640 W. Roosevelt Rd., 705 DHSP
Mail Code
626
Office Hours
By appointment
About
My work is at the intersection of disability, urban planning, and public health. I study the ways in which neighborhood environments, local policies, and systems impact health behaviors and health outcomes for people with disabilities using a blend of big data analytics, policy evaluation, and community engaged research. The intention of my work is to improve community mobility and access to health promoting opportunities. I am interested in using new and interesting data sources to study the effects of barrier removal for people with disabilities. I developed the Community Health Inclusion Index (CHII), as a tool that is psychometrically reliable and valid and which can be used by communities to increase participation of people with disability in health promoting activities. The CHII is currently used by communities across the country as well as internationally to examine community health inclusion. I utilize Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Global Positional Systems (GPS) tools in my research and as part of my teaching.
Selected Grants
National Science Foundation, Automating Transportation Affordances for People Living with Disabilities Using a Machine Learning Approach, UIC PI (Utah State University is Prime awardee)
National Science Foundation, Crowd+AI Tools to Map, Analyze, and Visualize Sidewalk Accessibility for Inclusive Cities, UIC - PI (University of Washington is Prime awardee)
Centers Of Disease Control and Prevention National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, National Center on Health Physical Activity and Disability, UIC PI (UAB is Prime Awardee)
Center for Large Data Research, Development of a Mobility Limitation Algorithm, Co-Principal Investigator
Selected Publications
“Quantifying active travel among people with disabilities in the US”, Disability and Health Journal
Service to the Community
I am currently serving on the USDOT's Advisory Committee on Transportation Equity, the Illinois DOTs Active Transportation Advisory Board, and an International Advisory Board - The Case for Planning for and with People with Disabilities, hosted by Institute for Transportation & Development Policy (IDP) and the Transformative Urban Mobility Initiative (TUMI).
Leadership in the Profession
American Public Health Association, Membership Chair on the Executive Committee of Disability Section
Transportation Research Board - AME50- Standing Committee on Accessibile Transportation and Mobility, Committee Research Chair
Notable Honors
2022 - New Investigator Award, American Public Health Association - Disability Section
Education
PhD in Health Policy and Administration, University of Illinois at Chicago (June 2019)
Masters of Urban Planning and Policy (MUPP), University of Illinois at Chicago (2008)
Bachelor of Arts B.A., University of Wisconsin – Madison (2005)