AI Biomechanics Lab
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People

Our Team

An interdisciplinary group spanning mechanical engineering, biomedical engineering, applied physiology & kinesiology, and computer science. If you want to join, read how we hire first — and write like you have already read the papers.

KC

Principal investigator

Kerry E. Costello, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor · Principal Investigator

Kerry directs the AI Biomechanics Lab in Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering. She studies how real-world movement and physical activity relate to musculoskeletal health, with an emphasis on knee osteoarthritis — using motion capture, wearable sensors, and machine learning to look at time-varying, multidimensional joint loads rather than a single peak moment. She came to UF from an NIH F32/T32 postdoc in physical therapy and rheumatology at Boston University.

Postdoc, Boston University · Ph.D., Biomedical Engineering, Dalhousie University · M.S., Biomedical Engineering, Virginia Tech · Fulbright Scholar, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam · B.S., Biomedical and Mechanical Engineering, Duke University

Office: Wertheim 482 · 352-392-0800

  • Knee osteoarthritis
  • Wearable sensors
  • Machine learning
k.costello@ufl.edu

Graduate students

AC

Alexandra Chertok

Ph.D. Candidate · Mechanical Engineering

Alexandra is evaluating markerless motion capture for lower-limb biomechanics during yoga — including whether a video-based system is accurate enough to use with patients who will not tolerate a full marker set.

B.S.E., Biomedical Engineering, University of Florida

Dissertation: Evaluation of markerless motion capture for lower limb biomechanics during yoga. HWCOE Dean’s Research Award · McJunkin Fellow.

  • Markerless mocap
  • Yoga
  • Lower-limb biomechanics
alexandrachertok@ufl.edu
RM

Ryan McCloskey

Ph.D. Candidate · Mechanical Engineering

Ryan works on markerless capture for knee osteoarthritis: whether it is efficient enough to run, accurate enough to trust, and useful enough that a clinician would look at the output.

B.S.E., Biomedical Engineering, University of Michigan

Dissertation: Evaluation of markerless motion capture for knee osteoarthritis — efficiency, accuracy, and clinical insights. HWCOE Dean’s Research Award.

  • Markerless mocap
  • Knee OA
  • Clinical translation
r.mccloskey@ufl.edu
PS

Peter Schaefer

Ph.D. Candidate · Mechanical Engineering

Peter studies accelerometer patterns of daily activity in people with knee osteoarthritis — magnitude, duration, loading frequency — and how those patterns line up with pain.

M.S., Biomedical Engineering, University of Florida · B.S.E., Biomedical Engineering, UC Irvine

Dissertation: Knee osteoarthritis accelerometry — exploring patterns of human activity.

  • Accelerometry
  • Physical activity
  • Knee OA
schaeferp@ufl.edu
KS

Kaitlin Southern

Ph.D. Candidate · Biomedical Engineering

Kaitlin is identifying translational measures of osteoarthritic pain that connect preclinical models with patients. She is co-mentored by Dr. Kyle Allen.

M.S., Biomedical Engineering, East Carolina University · B.S., Engineering, East Carolina University

NIH F31 Predoctoral Fellowship. Co-mentored by Dr. Kyle Allen.

  • OA pain
  • Translational measures
  • Preclinical models
ksouthern@ufl.edu
AO

Alexis Orr

M.S. Student · Biomedical Engineering

Alexis is an M.S. student in biomedical engineering. She completed her B.S. in BME at UF.

B.S., Biomedical Engineering, University of Florida

  • Biomechanics
  • Graduate research

Visiting scholars

KS

Kate Sainsbury

NSF REU · Biology, Keuka College

Kate is a visiting NSF REU student from Keuka College, working with the lab on movement and musculoskeletal health.

Biology, Keuka College

  • REU
  • Biology

Undergraduate researchers

JR

Jack de Riesthal

Undergraduate researcher · Mechanical Engineering

Undergraduate researcher in mechanical engineering.

  • Mechanical engineering
CH

Caiden Hyer

Undergraduate researcher · Biomedical Engineering

University Scholar in biomedical engineering.

University Scholar

  • University Scholar
KK

Komal Keesara

Undergraduate researcher · Mechanical Engineering

Undergraduate researcher in mechanical engineering.

  • Mechanical engineering
RM

Ryder McComb

Undergraduate researcher · Biomedical Engineering

AI Scholar in biomedical engineering.

AI Scholar

  • AI Scholar
SO

Salma Ouaakki

Undergraduate researcher · BME & Economics

Undergraduate researcher in biomedical engineering and economics.

  • BME
  • Economics
ZS

Zoe Struk

Undergraduate researcher · ME & Music

AI Scholar and MAE IDEA Research Fellow, studying mechanical engineering and music.

AI Scholar · MAE IDEA Research Fellow

  • AI Scholar
  • IDEA Fellow
AT

Anthony Tivda

Undergraduate researcher · Biomedical Engineering

Undergraduate researcher in biomedical engineering.

  • Biomedical engineering
LV

Laliv Vinarski

Undergraduate researcher · Biomedical Engineering

Undergraduate researcher in biomedical engineering.

  • Biomedical engineering

Alumni

Alumni have gone on to Duke, Georgia Tech, Politecnico di Milano, CU Anschutz, Wisconsin–Madison, Arthrex, Johnson & Johnson MedTech, and others.

  • Jenna Qualter

    M.S. BME, 2026

    Thesis: Considerations for holistic biomechanics assessment in knee osteoarthritis — acceptability and pain measurement in a community-based, multi-activity protocol.

  • Alex Gruber

    M.S. APK, 2024