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Jackie Cha

Jackie Cha

Patricia Flatley Brennan Assistant Professor

Dr. Jackie Cha is the Patricia Flatley Brennan Assistant Professor in the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering at the University of Wisconsin – Madison. Her research focuses on measuring physical human-robot interactions, particularly in healthcare environments, to improve worker performance, safety, and system efficiency. Her team investigates applications of robotics – both surgical robotic systems and wearables – in clinical environments and the changes of physical and cognitive interactions between human teams and robots. Prior to joining UW-Madison, she served as an assistant professor at Clemson University. She obtained her PhD in Industrial Engineering from Purdue University and MSE/BSE in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Michigan. Her research has been funded by several sponsors such as the National Science Foundation (NSF) (including the NSF CAREER award), National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the Agency of Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).

Department

Industrial & Systems Engineering

Contact

Mechanical Engineering Bldg
1513 University Ave
Madison, WI

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  • PhD 2020, Purdue University
  • MS 2016, University of Michigan
  • BS 2015, University of Michigan

  • Human factors
  • Ergonomics
  • Sensor-based measurement
  • Nontechnical skills
  • Surgical human-robot interaction
  • Physical human-robot interaction

  • 2024 Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers (IISE) Work Systems Division, Best Work Systems Track Paper
  • 2020 Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (HFES) Product Design Technical Group, Best Student Paper Award
  • 2020 Purdue University, College of Engineering Outstanding Graduate Student Research Award
  • 2019 Purdue University, Graduate Student Government Travel Grant
  • 2019 Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (HFES), Human Factors and Ergonomics (HFE) WOMAN Rising Star Award
  • 2019 2019 Regional Education and Research Center Symposium, People’s Choice Poster Presentation
  • 2019 Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (HFES), Student Member with Honors Award
  • 2018 Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (HFES), 1 st place HFES Annual Conference UX Day Business Wire® Heuristic Evaluation Competition
  • 2018 Purdue University, 3 rd place, Health & Disease: Science, Technology, Culture and Policy Research Poster Session
  • 2018 Purdue University, 3 rd place, School of Industrial Engineering Poster Competition
  • 2018 Purdue University, Graduate Student Government Professional Grant
  • 2017 Purdue University, Graduate Student Government Travel Grant
  • 2016 Purdue University, Ross Fellowship
  • 2016 University of Michigan, Rackham Domestic Travel Grant

  • Kennedy, S., Fuller, P., Cha, J., Carbonell, A. M., Luo, Q., & Joseph, A. (2025). Exploring the Impact of the Physical Environment on Robotic-Assisted Surgery Outcomes and Processes: A Scoping Review. Human factors, 00187208251333907.
  • Gonzales, A., Jackson, C., & Cha, J. (2025). Extended reality as a modality to train non-technical skills in healthcare: A scoping review. Applied Ergonomics, 125, 104463.
  • Ball, M., Fuller, P., & Cha, J. (2025). Identification of surgical human-robot interactions and measures during robotic-assisted surgery: A scoping review. Applied Ergonomics, 125, 104478.
  • Lim, C., Obuseh, M., Cha, J., Steward, J., Sundaram, C., & Yu, D. (2025). Neural insights on expert surgeons’ mental workload during live robotic surgeries. Scientific Reports, 15(1), 12073.
  • West, J., Singh, C., Cha, J., & Li, D. (2025). s-DResNet: an adversarial domain residual adaptation network for mental workload detection in robotic assisted surgeries. IISE Transactions on Healthcare Systems Engineering, 1-11.
  • Cha, J., Fuller, P., Ball, M., Samreen, S., Sylla, P., Stefanidis, D., & Committee, S. R. (2025). SAGES tool for assessing robotic surgery systems (STARSS). Surgical Endoscopy, 1-13.
  • Barbieri, D., Srinivasan, D., Ulrich, J., Ranganathan, S., Chang, C., Gerac, J. A., & Cha, J. (2025). Systems-based framework for clinical decision-support system integration for patient sepsis management: A theoretical application of the SEIPS model. Human Factors in Healthcare, 7, 100098.
  • Liu, H., Luo, Q., Carbonell, A. M., Love, W., & Cha, J. (2025). Treatment effect estimation via optimization in robotic-assisted surgery: Insights from the Southeastern US. IISE Transactions on Healthcare Systems Engineering, 1-16.
  • Fuller, P., Kennedy, S., Ball, M., Duffie, H., Gainey, M., Luo, Q., Joseph, A., Carbonell, A., & Cha, J. (2025). Understanding the challenges of robotic-assisted surgery adoption: Perspectives from stakeholders and the general population on human-interaction, built environment, and training. Applied Ergonomics, 122, 104403.
  • Fuller, P., Kennedy, S., Ball, M., Duffie, H., Luo, Q., Joseph, A., Carbonell, A., & Cha, J. (2024). Understanding the Adoption of Robotic-Assisted Surgery: A Focus on Human-Robot Interactions, Training, and Built Environments. In 2024 IISE Annual Conference and Expo.

  • I SY E 699 - Advanced Independent Study (Fall 2025)
  • I SY E 790 - Master's Research and Thesis (Fall 2025)
  • I SY E 890 - Pre-Dissertator's Research (Fall 2025)
  • I SY E 990 - Research and Thesis (Fall 2025)