Dan Adler
I am a Tenure-Track Assistant Professor in Computer Science and Engineering at the University of Michigan. I lead the REsponsible and Actionable Computing for Healthcare (REACH) Lab.
I am not recruiting PhD students in the 2026-27 application cycle.
My goal is to develop technologies that improve healthcare for everyone. Towards this, I design, develop, and evaluate novel data-driven technologies and AI models by rigorously studying their high-stakes and complex healthcare applications. Much of my work focuses on how to make these technologies actionable – using collected data to support actions that improve our health and well-being. My research is inherently interdisciplinary, and sits at the intersection of human-computer interaction (HCI), responsible AI, ubiquitous computing, and digital health. At Michigan, I am affiliated with the Human Centered Computing Lab, the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Lab, the Eisenberg Family Depression Center, and the Michigan Institute for Data & AI in Society.
Much of my work has focused on developing novel passive sensing AI technologies that repurpose the behavioral and physiological data generated by consumer devices to monitor symptoms of mental illness. I have developed AI tools that model multivariate behavioral and physiological data to identify individual-specific behaviors associated with symptoms of schizophrenia and depression. I have created frameworks for evaluating the generalizability and reliability of these AI tools. Finally, I have conducted participatory and speculative user-centered research to study how passive sensing technologies can support clinical actions, worker well-being, and novel healthcare payment programs.
You can check out my publications on Google Scholar and connect with me on LinkedIn.
Recent News
August 2026: I’m excited to launch the REsponsible and Actionable Computing for Healthcare (REACH) Lab at the University of Michigan, along with my PhD students, Jessica Li and Shiyu Xu.
August 2026: I’m excited to be speaking on a panel at the Michigan Institute for Data & AI in Society’s Mental Health Conference this October. Highly recommend attending if you’re able to!
August 2026: I’ll be an Associate Chair for the 2027 ACM CHI conference. Excited to read everyone’s great submissions!
June 2026: I’m really excited to be co-organizing the first UbiComp and Health Symposium on Friday, June 12th.
May 2026: We are once again co-organizing a workshop on Ubiquitous Computing and Mental Health at UbiComp/ISWC 2026 in Shanghai, China. If you’re conducting innovative reserach in this space, consider submitting a workshop paper!
May 2026: It was great to give a talk at the Resilient Minds Seminar, focused on my recent work in passive sensing, AI, and mental health. Thanks for hosting me!
April 2026: Excited to have received an Eisenberg Family Depression Center Collaborative Minds mini grant! The grant will support our work to develop novel approaches to sense behaviors related to sleep.