James A. Oñate joined University of Pittsburgh Health Sciences as dean of the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences in June 2026 after nearly 25 years in academic leadership, teaching and research positions in these fields at leading institutions such as The Ohio State University, Old Dominion University and Boston University.
His research has had a significant impact nationally and internationally in the field of human movement assessment, specifically in addressing factors that influence human performance in physically active populations. His focus on assessing the risk of lower-extremity injuries has expanded over the years to include significant interest in multifaceted areas of human performance, including concussions, military human performance, and first responder holistic health, an integrated wellness approach designed to manage the heavy mental, physical and emotional load of emergency careers.
Dr. Oñate has received funding from several different national organizations such as the National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Defense and the U.S. Special Operations Command, which has funded projects related to the care of youth football athletes, high-school athletes, military special operations soldiers and law enforcement officers. He is a fellow of the National Athletic Trainers' Association (NATA), current vice president of research at NATA Research and Education Foundation and a founding chair of the foundation’s Athletic Training Research Agenda Committee. He also serves as associate editor of the Journal of Athletic Training.
As an educator, Dr. Oñate has guided development and accreditation of a Master of Athletic Training program and has mentored numerous undergraduate and graduate students and faculty and staff members. He earned his master’s degree in exercise science and his PhD in human movement sciences with an emphasis in motor learning and biomechanics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
As the fifth dean of SHRS, Dr. Oñate remains committed to upholding the outstanding tradition of Pitt’s contribution to impactful research critical to health and rehabilitation sciences and to making a positive impact across the globe.
