Updates
Meet the team: Doug Mitchell [Lab Manager]
Douglas Mitchell is a Research Fellow and Lab Manager in the Movement & Applied Imaging Lab at Boston University. He supports day-to-day lab operations and contributes to data collection for the MODES project. Doug received his bachelor’s degree in clinical Physiology from Central Washington University and his Master’s in Exercise Physiology from San Diego State University, where his thesis research examined gait biomechanics under dual-task conditions. His work investigated how cognitive load influences walking performance and whether current metrics adequately capture dual-task cost. Doug is particularly interested in biomechanics, human performance, and injury mechanisms in a variety of populations.
Outside the lab, he enjoys hiking, strength training, playing, coaching and watching rugby, and continuing to develop his cooking skills.
Meet the team: Dr. Ting Long [Postdoctoral Researcher]
Dr. Ting Long is a postdoctoral researcher in the Movement & Applied Imaging Lab at Boston University specializing in wearable sensing for the assessment of movement-related injury risk and musculoskeletal health. Her work focuses on leveraging inertial measurement units and musculoskeletal modeling to quantify human movement and better understand injury mechanisms in real-world settings. She has experience integrating wearable data with biomechanical models to develop robust, scalable approaches for movement analysis. Her research is driven by a strong interest in clinical translation, with the goal of turning advanced computational methods into practical tools for rehabilitation, injury prevention, and performance optimization.
Outside of her research, Dr. Long enjoys staying active through sports and has a particular passion for making coffee.
Meet the team: Rhodora Therese Torres [PhD student]
Rhodora Therese Torres is a PhD in Rehabilitation Science student in the Department of Physical Therapy at Boston University. Rhodora received her degree in physical therapy and has worked as a clinician and lecturer in the Philippines. She earned her master’s degree in public health science majoring in rehabilitation science from Korea University under the Korean Government Scholarship Program. Rhodora is a recipient of the PhRMA Value Assessment and Health Outcomes pre-doctoral fellowship, and her research focuses on capturing real-world gait and sleep to enable early identification of pain flares in people with knee osteoarthritis.
Outside of academia, she enjoys art, visiting museums and galleries, and going on leisure walks.
Meet the team: Dilinazi Duolikun [Research Assistant]
Dilinazi Duolikun (Dina) is a Research Assistant in the Movement & Applied Imaging Lab at Boston University. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Rehabilitation Therapy from Capital Medical University in Beijing, China, and her master’s degree in Human Physiology from Boston University. Her master’s research focused on motor unit properties in people with knee osteoarthritis, with an emphasis on understanding how neuromuscular control may be altered in this population. Her research interests center on neuromuscular control, biomechanics, and exercise physiology.
Outside the lab, Dina enjoys spending time with her sweet companion, Metro, reading thrillers, traveling, and going to concerts.
Meet the team: Yiwen Yang [PhD student]
Yiwen Yang is a student in the combined DPT-PhD Rehabilitation Sciences at Boston University and a member of the Movement & Applied Imaging Lab. Yiwen received her Bachelor of Science in Health Studies and Doctor of Physical Therapy degrees from Boston University Sargent College. Yiwen is passionate about investigating innovative movement-based interventions for people with chronic musculoskeletal pain, with a particular focus on approaches that may target the central nervous system.
Outside of her academic and research work, Yiwen is a proud parent of her fur baby, Sumo, and enjoys traveling to explore nature.
We had our 1st advisory board meeting!
We held our first advisory board meeting on Jan 14, 2026. We are grateful to our amazing and accomplished advisory board for gathering across timezones and countries and share their feedback and suggestions with us!
Meet the team: Prof. S. Reza Jafarzadeh [Multiple Principal Investigator]
Dr. S. Reza Jafarzadeh, an epidemiologist in Emergency Medicine at UC Davis Health, specializes in applying causal inference methods to observational studies and comparative effectiveness research. He serves as one of the Multiple Principal Investigators on MODES.
His expertise in Bayesian methods advances the evaluation of diagnostic tests and prevalence estimation, particularly in settings lacking a gold standard.
Meet the team: Prof. David Felson [Multiple Principal Investigator]
Dr. David Felson is a Professor of Rheumatology at Boston University. He serves as one of the Multiple Principal Investigators on MODES.
Dr. Felson is a rheumatologist and epidemiologist. He completed his undergraduate from Harvard and MD from Johns Hopkins. Dr. Felson is a renowned researcher with several seminal contributions in the areas of osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis outcomes. Dr. Felson started the Framingham Osteoarthritis Study, the Multicenter Osteoarthritis Study, the Beijing Osteoarthritis Study. For rheumatoid arthritis, Dr. Felson led international efforts to standardize outcome measurement in rheumatoid arthritis, efforts that helped catalyze the dramatic improvements in treatment for this disease.
Outside of research, Dr. Felson enjoys hiking and pickleball.
Meet the team: Prof. Deepak Kumar [Principal Investigator]
Professor Deepak Kumar is the Principal Investigator of MODES and an Associate Professor in the Department of Physical Therapy at Boston University. Prof. Kumar completed his physical therapy training in India and worked as a physical therapist for a few years before relocating to the US for his PhD in Biomechanics from University of Delaware. After his PhD, Prof. Kumar completed postdoctoral training in advanced musculoskeletal imaging at the University of California, San Francisco. At Boston University, he leads the Movement & Applied Imaging Lab with a goal of developing technologies and interventions to reduce pain and improve function for people with knee osteoarthritis.
Outside of work, Prof. Kumar enjoys hiking, camping, and biking with his family including his 6-year old daughter.
New NIH UG3 grant to develop digital endpoints for knee osteoarthritis
We have received a UG3 award from The National Institutes of Health National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) for an exciting project to develop a composite digital endpoint of real-world pain and mobility for knee osteoarthritis.
Read more here: https://reporter.nih.gov/search/bDtARxv6ukysMQIotkLxiw/project-details/11206133