The M2M project is comprised of a research team and the coalition of community organizations and centers within Birmingham Alabama, referred to as the Alabama Coalition Collaborating on Research in Disability (ACCORD). The research team is comprised of personnel under the UAB / Lakeshore Research Collaborative. Click below to learn about each entity.
Dr. James Rimmer is the principal investigator of the M2M project. Dr. Rimmer is responsible for ongoing management, intervention monitoring. He is a professor in the School of Health Professions at UAB and Lakeshore Endowed Chair in Health Promotion and Rehabilitation Sciences, and Director of Research at Lakeshore Foundation, which is the performance site for all testing and intervention delivery of the M2M project. He also has an adjunct appointment in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. He is the PI and Director of the CDC National Center on Health, Physical Activity and Disability (NCHPAD, www.nchpad.org). He is a trained exercise physiologist/adapted physical activity specialist with prior and current studies on barriers to physical activity, resistance and aerobic exercise, physical function, and obesity in adults with physical disabilities.
Dr. Hui-Ju Young is the research director and creator of the M2M project. She is a trained exercise physiologist and is currently a Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Physical Therapy within the School of Health Professions at UAB. Her current research portfolio includes examining physiological and psychosocial effects of the M2M intervention in people with physical disabilities. She is actively involved in studies conducted under the UAB/Lakeshore Research Collaborative. Dr. Young was an award winning dancer who received extensive training in classical, traditional, and contemporary Chinese dance. She has professional performing experience and has been teaching dance for more than 15 years.
Alex Yates is the Project Coordinator for the M2M Study under the UAB/Lakeshore Foundation Research Collaborative. She is responsible for the administrative tasks for the M2M project. She received her bachelor’s degree in exercise science from Auburn University and her master’s degree in Exercise Physiology from UAB. She is a certifed Health Fitness Specialist and Cancer Exercise Trainer through ACSM. She has worked for the UAB/Lakeshore Research Collaborative since 2016.
Avery Vitemb is a Researcher II under the UAB / Lakeshore Research Collaborative. She has a BS in kinesiology with a concentration in exercise science from UAB. She is working to develop the exercise intervention for the M2M project and will help with delivering and monitoring the intervention. She also works as a one on one tele-coach for a different research study. She has an extensive background in dance spanning over 15 years of training in different styles such as ballet, jazz, modern, afro-jazz, contemporary, ballroom, and hip hop.
Diane Rimmer is an M2M instructor under the UAB/Lakeshore Research Collaborative. She is working with a team to develop the M2M project to teach movement and dance to participants. She began her early ballet training with Jorg Fasting and later received her BS in Dance Education from Texas Women’s University. She previously taught ballet, modern and jazz at Northern Illinois University where she founded and directed the Community Dance School for 24 years.
Tara is an M2M instructor under the UAB/Lakeshore Research Collaborative. She began her training with Lillian Tcherkassky in Kensington, Maryland and the Washington School of Ballet. She attended the North Carolina School of the Arts and furthered her studies with the renowned teacher David Howard as well as Melissa Hayden of the New York City Ballet. She is currently teaching at the Alabama Ballet and sometimes performs in productions. She is one of the original instructors of M2M and helped create the classes and movement.
Beth is a M2M instructor under the UAB/Lakeshore Research Collaborative. She attended the University of Utah as a Ballet Major. Beth’s over 50-year dance experience includes, company performance member, teacher, choreographer, and company director. Beth has a Chair Yoga Teacher Intensive certification and owns a local fitness, yoga and massage therapy studio. Beth, along with the other instructors, is creating and developing the classes for M2M.
Lori Theriot is the Recruitment Coordinator for the UAB/Lakeshore Foundation Research Collaborative. She assists with recruitment of participants and general support for the project. Mrs. Theriot holds a BA in Communications from the University of Alabama. She has been employed at Lakeshore since 2003 and has worked for the Collaborative since 2012
Dr. Lai is a postdoctoral researcher under the UAB / Lakeshore Research Collaborative. He is the project manager for the second study of the M2M project and is the qualitative research investigator and teleexercise specialist. His research focuses on advancing the exercise science for people with disabilities through the incorporation of exercise technology and innovative methodological designs, such as mixed-methods research. He has over 10 years of experience with adapted exercise training in people with physical disabilities and neurological conditions.
Dr. Mehta is an obesity researcher and a data scientist with several years of experience in biostatistics and data mining. He is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Health Services Administration at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) and his training included PhD in Biostatistics and Masters in Electrical Engineering. He directs the statistical analysis and design core of the UAB/Lakeshore Research Collaborative, a collaboration between UAB School of Health Profession and Lakeshore Foundation, in the area of disability and rehabilitation sciences.
Dr. Thirumalai is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Health Services Administration and the Director of the Information and Communication Technology Core under the UAB/Lakeshore Research Collaborative. He has an extensive background in web programming, web design and operation management and information systems.
Dr. Wilroy is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and serves as a Co-Investigator across multiple projects under the UAB / Lakeshore Research Collaborative. He is also a KL2 Scholar through the Center for Clinical and Translational Science at UAB. For the M2M project, he is responsible for the development and monitoring of the behavioral components to improve participant adherence and engagement.