Assistant Professor, Department of Kinesiology

Email

Preferred: hang.qu@sjsu.edu

Telephone

Preferred: (408) 924-5131

Spartan Complex 164

Education

Postdoc, University of Florida, Neurocognitive and Behavioral Development Lab
Ph.D., Iowa State University, Motor Control and Biomechanics
M.S., The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Biomechanics and Sports Medicine
B.S., Shanghai University of Sport, Kinesiology

Bio

Dr. Hang Qu is an Assistant Professor of Motor Behavior. Before joining SJSU, she completed her postdoctoral training in the Neurocognitive and Behavioral Development Lab at the University of Florida, and earned her PhD in Motor Control and Biomechanics from Iowa State University.

Dr. Qu studies neuromotor function: how the nervous system controls movement, and how that control changes with age and with neurodevelopmental conditions. Her postdoctoral research examines motor and neurocognitive function in autistic adults across middle and older age, integrating movement analysis with neuroimaging, as part of two NIH-funded programs supported by the National Institute on Aging and the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. Her doctoral work addressed the effects of mental and physical fatigue on cortical activity, gait, balance control, and cognitive performance in older adults. Her earlier graduate and undergraduate research spanned sports biomechanics, footwear design, and muscle function in recreational and competitive athletes. She has presented these work at more than 20 conferences in the United States, Canada, Europe, and Asia, including the Society for Neuroscience, the International Society for Autism Research, and the American and International Societies of Biomechanics. Her future work will extend this line toward AI-integrated and wearable health technologies for neuromotor assessment in neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative populations. 

Beyond research, she enjoys skiing, tennis, badminton, and traveling with her family. She is also a pianist and a student pilot in training.

 

Expertise, Research & Teaching Interests
 
Motor learning and motor control
Movement analysis and musculoskeletal modeling
Gait balance, postural control and mobility impairment
Neurodegeneration and neurorehabilitation
AI-integrated and wearable health technologies

 
Courses Taught
 
At SJSU:

KIN 165 Motor Development
KIN 166 Motor Learning

At other institutes:

KIN 355 Biomechanics
KIN 372 Motor Control and Learning Across the Lifespan
KIN 252 Introduction to the Discipline of Kinesiology
HS 350 Human Disease
HPHY 211 Medical Terminology
HPHY 212 Biostatistics
HPHY 381 Biomechanics
HPHY 325 Anatomy & Physiology III (Dissection)

 

Selected Publications
 
Li, J., Qu, H., & Chou, L. S. (2026). Impact of physical fatigue on lower-limb inter-joint coordination during overground and treadmill walking. World Scientific Annual Review of Biomechanics. https://doi.org/10.1142/S2810958926500019
 
Wang, Z., Qu, H., Christensen, D., Gemmell, H. M., Parks, E. M., Wetherington, K. E., Orlando, A.-M., Romero, R. A., Karmakar, B., & Vaillancourt, D. E. (2026). Atypical visually guided precision grip control in middle-aged and older autistic adults. Autism Research. https://doi.org/10.1002/aur.70154  
 
Wang, A., Qu, H., Wang, L., Chen, X., Zhu, W., & Sun, Y. (2025). Disruption of ankle control strategies by exercise-induced fatigue during stair descent in athletes with chronic ankle instability. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apmr.2025.10.020  
 
Qu, H., Wang, J., Shirley, D. J., Gemmell, H. M., Christensen, D., Orlando, A. M., Romero, R. A., Zielinski, B. A., & Wang, Z. (2025). Atypical postural control variability and coordination persist into middle and older adulthood in autism spectrum disorder. Autism Research, 18(4), 752-764. https://doi.org/10.1002/aur.70024  
 
Kim, H. K., Qu, H., & Chou, L. S. (2024). Center of mass motion and plantar pressure distribution during walking in overweight individuals. Gait and Posture, 108, 307-312. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gaitpost.2024.01.003  
 
Qu, H., Zhang, S., Sorochan, J. C., Weinhandl, J. T., Thoms, A. W., & Dickson, K. H. (2022). Effects of synthetic turf and shock pad on impact attenuation related biomechanics during drop landing. Sports Biomechanics, 21(6), 748-760. https://doi.org/10.1080/14763141.2019.1690570 

 
Selected Presentations
 
Qu, H., Shin, Y. S., Parks, E., Orlando, A.-M., Vaillancourt, D. E., Coombes, S. A., & Wang, Z. (2026, October). Cortical-subcortical brain activation during rapid precision gripping in middle-aged and older autistic adults. Podium presentation, Gatlinburg Conference, Minneapolis, MN.
 
Qu, H., Terza, M., Gemmell, H. M., Shirley, D. J., Orlando, A.-M., Karmakar, B., & Wang, Z. (2025, November). Persistent deviations in non-constrained walking and grooved pegboard performance in middle-aged and older autistic adults. Annual Meeting of the Society for Neuroscience, San Diego, CA.
 
Qu, H., Li, J., & Chou, L. S. (2025, August). Age-specific adaptations to mental fatigue in dual-task walking of varying complexity. Podium presentation, 49th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Biomechanics, Pittsburgh, PA.
 
Qu, H., Li, J., & Chou, L. S. (2025, July). Age-related differences in mental and physical fatigue effects on working memory and gait balance. Podium presentation, XXX Congress of the International Society of Biomechanics, Stockholm, Sweden.
 
Qu, H., Wang, J., Shirley, D. J., Gemmell, H., Christensen, D., Orlando, A.-M., Romero, R. A., Zielinski, B. A., & Wang, Z. (2025, May). Atypical postural control persists through adulthood in autism spectrum disorder. Annual Meeting of the International Society for Autism Research, Seattle, WA.
 
Qu, H., & Zhang, S. (2019, July). Synthetic turf and shock pad reduced initial peak vertical ground reaction force during drop landing. XXVII Congress of the International Society of Biomechanics and 43rd Annual Meeting of the American Society of Biomechanics, Calgary, Canada.

 
Undergraduate/Graduate Student Research Supervision
 
Over the past years, Dr. Qu has mentored over ten undergraduate researchers, drawn from kinesiology, psychology, nutrition, food science, and mechanical engineering, including honors students and varsity athletes. She trains students to carry a project end to end: running data collections, processing and analyzing data, reading literature, and writing up findings for publication and presentation. Several have co-authored peer-reviewed manuscripts and presented at national conferences, and she organizes lab research seminars so that students learn to present and defend their own work. Her former mentees have gone on to graduate study in clinical psychology and kinesiology, to medical, PT, and OT programs, and to positions in engineering and athletic performance. 

She welcomes undergraduate and master's students interested in neuromotor function and movement analysis; no prior laboratory experience is required.

 
Professional Affiliations
 
American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM)
American Society of Biomechanics (ASB)
International Society of Biomechanics (ISB)
International Society for Autism Research (INSAR)
Society for Neuroscience (SfN)