Currently, Ron Zernicke is a Co-Director—with Dr. Ken Kozloff—of the Human Performance & Sport Science Center (HPSSC), and a Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery (Michigan Medicine), Kinesiology, and Biomedical Engineering at the University of Michigan (U-M). From 2016-2021, he served as a Co-Director with Dr. Ellen Arruda (Department of Mechanical Engineering) of the U-M Exercise and Sport Science Initiative (ESSI), funded by the U-M Provost, Vice President-Research, and Director of Athletics. ESSI brought together the expertise of 19 U-M schools/colleges and the intercollegiate athletic program in cutting-edge interdisciplinary research and effectively translated findings to enhance sport performance and public health and wellbeing. One of the objectives of a U-M “Initiative” is to launch new ideas and test their potential for making positive impacts. By 2022, it was clear that ESSI had become viable, sustainable, and had a promising future. Thus, the “Initiative” was transformed into a U-M “Center” (HPSSC), which it embodies today, with its administrative home in the School of Kinesiology, while maintaining and expanding its extensive collaborations and networks across the U-M campus and Athletics—in addition to expanding its research funding through contracts (e.g., industry—Apple & Samsung; and professional sports organizations—NBA/NBPA & Detroit Tigers) and grants. Complementing its research mission and community outreach programs, HPSSC expanded its educational mission by developing and offering a series of general-elective undergraduate courses for U-M students.

Prior to coming to U-M in 2007, Ron Zernicke was the Wood Professor in Joint Injury Research in the Cummins School of Medicine, Professor and Dean of the Faculty of Kinesiology, and Professor in the Schulich School of Engineering (Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering) at the University of Calgary. His BA is from Concordia University Chicago, and his MSc/PhD are from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He received an honorary DSc (Applied Health Science) from the University of Waterloo (Canada) and was Professor and Chair of the UCLA Department of Kinesiology when he was recruited to Calgary. He was Dean of the U-M School of Kinesiology, and he was elected President of the Canadian, American, and International Societies of Biomechanics, and the National Academy of Kinesiology. He is an elected Fellow of the International, American, and Canadian Societies of Biomechanics, American College of Sports Medicine, and National Academy of Kinesiology, and he is an Honorary Member of the Canadian Orthopaedic Research Society. His research focuses on adaptation of bone to exercise, disuse, and diet; human movement dynamics and performance; and joint injury and osteoarthritis. His research has received more than $50 million in competitive funding, and he has received numerous national and international awards for his research in biomechanics (e.g., 2024 American Society of Biomechanics Jim Hay Award for Excellence in the Biomechanics of Exercise and Sport Science). He is a member of the Advisory Board for the Michigan Concussion Center, and he served as the Chair of the Scientific Advisory Committee of the Wu Tsai Human Performance Alliance (https://humanperformancealliance.org/