The M2M project is comprised of a research team and the coalition of community organizations and centers within Birmingham Alabama, referred to as the Birmingham Inclusive Health Coalition (BIHC). 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 principle 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 and is a senior scientist in the Center for Exercise Medicine at UAB. 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 exerise, physical function, and obesity in adults with physical disabilities.
Alex Yates is the Project Coordinator for the UAB/Lakeshore Foundation Research Collaborative. She is responsible for the administrative tasks for the M2M project. She holds a BA in Exercise Science from Auburn University and a MA in Exercise Physiology from UAB. She has worked for the UAB/Lakeshore Research Collaborative since 2016.
Dr. Hui-Ju Young is the project coordinator for the M2M project and creator of the M2M program. Dr. Young is a Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Physical Therapy within the School of Health Professions at UAB. She is actively involved in studies conducted under the UAB/Lakeshore Research Collaborative, where she serves as the scientific coordinator for a pragmatic exercise trial for people with multiple sclerosis funded by the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI).
Avery Vitemb is a Researcher II at 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 ballet training in Washington D.C. and furthered her studies at the WC School of the Arts and continued in New York City with David Howard and Melissa Hayden of the NC City Ballet. She has taught in the Birmingham dance community for 35 years.
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.
Tapan Mehta – Project Statistician
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 a postdoctoral reseacher under the UAB / Lakeshore Research Collaborative. He is responsible for the development and monitoring of the behavioral aspects of the M2M project. He is also the project coordinator for an NIH R01 under Dr. James Rimmer.
