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Our Team

Our team is an interdisciplinary group from mechanical engineering, biomedical engineering, applied physiology & kinesiology, and computer science.

AI Biomechanics Lab team photo, Spring 2026

Principal Investigator

Portrait photo of principal investigator Dr. Kerry E. Costello

Dr. Kerry E. Costello

Assistant Professor

Mechanical Engineering

Dr. Kerry E. Costello is the Director of the AI Biomechanics Lab at the University of Florida. Her research focuses on biomechanics, artificial intelligence applications in movement analysis, and osteoarthritis research.

Training:

  • Postdoctoral Fellowship, Boston University
  • Ph.D., Biomedical Engineering, Dalhousie University
  • M.S., Biomedical Engineering, Virginia Tech
  • Fulbright Scholar, Human Movement Science, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
  • B.S., Biomedical and Mechanical Engineering, Duke University

Graduate Students

Portrait photo of graduate student Alexandra Chertok

Alexandra Chertok

Ph.D. Student
Mechanical Engineering

Training:

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

Fellowships & Funding:

  • HWCOE Dean’s Research Award
  • McJunkin Fellow
Portrait photo of graduate student Ryan McCloskey

Ryan McCloskey

Ph.D. Candidate
Mechanical Engineering

Training:

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

Dissertation:Evaluation of markerless motion capture for knee osteoarthritis: Efficiency, accuracy, and clinical insights

Fellowships & Funding:

  • HWCOE Dean’s Research Award
Portrait photo of graduate student Jenna Qualter

Jenna Qualter

M.S. Student
Biomedical Engineering

Training:

  • B.S., Comprehensive Science, Villanova University

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

Portrait photo of graduate student Peter Schaefer

Peter Schaefer

Ph.D. Candidate
Mechanical Engineering

Training:

  • M.S., Biomedical Engineering, University of Florida
  • B.S.E., Biomedical Engineering, University of California Irvine

Dissertation:Knee osteoarthritis accelerometery: Exploring patterns of human activity

Portrait photo of graduate student Kaitlin Southern

Kaitlin Southern

Ph.D. Candidate
Biomedical Engineering

Training:

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

Dissertation:Identifying translational measures of osteoarthritic pain between preclinical models and patients

Co-mentored by:Dr. Kyle Allen

Fellowships & Funding:

  • NIH F31 Predoctoral Fellowship

Undergraduate Students

Portrait photo of undergraduate student Jasmina Begovic

Jasmina Begovic

Mechanical Engineering

University Scholar
Portrait photo of undergraduate student Jenna Bello

Jenna Bello

Biomedical Engineering

Portrait photo of undergraduate student Jack de Riesthal

Jack de Riesthal

Mechanical Engineering

Portrait photo of undergraduate student Caiden Hyer

Caiden Hyer

Biomedical Engineering

University Scholar
Portrait photo of undergraduate student Komal Keesara

Komal Keesara

Mechanical Engineering

Portrait photo of undergraduate student Kenneth Khong

Kenneth Khong

Mechanical Engineering

Portrait photo of undergraduate student Ryder McComb

Ryder McComb

Biomedical Engineering

University Scholar
Portrait photo of undergraduate student Tanya Mirchandani

Tanya Mirchandani

Mechanical Engineering

Portrait photo of undergraduate student Anish Nelluri

Anish Nelluri

Computer Science

Portrait photo of undergraduate student Alexis Orr

Alexis Orr

Biomedical Engineering

Portrait photo of undergraduate student Salma Ouaakki

Salma Ouaakki

Biomedical Engineering & Economics

Portrait photo of undergraduate student Zoe Struk

Zoe Struk

Mechanical Engineering & Music

AI ScholarMAE IDEA Research Fellow
Portrait photo of undergraduate student Anthony Tivda

Anthony Tivda

Biomedical Engineering

Portrait photo of undergraduate student Laliv Vinarski

Laliv Vinarski

Biomedical Engineering

Alumni

Graduate Alumni

  • Alex Gruber, M.S. APK (2024), B.S. APK (2023)

Undergraduate Alumni

  • Ibraham Al Zbib, B.S. CS
  • Tiffany Cheng, B.S. MAE (2025)
  • Jayson Duran, B.S. MAE (2025)
  • Sean Leapley, B.S. MAE (2025)
  • Syed Miqdad, B.S. CS
  • Turiya Moka, B.S. BME (2025)
  • Anjali Natarajan, B.S. BME (2025)
  • Shane Rosenthal, B.S. MAE
  • Zayne Shehadeh, B.S. MAE
  • Jessie Shutzberg, B.S. MAE (2023)
  • Will Taylor, B.S. APK
  • Stephanie Wells, B.S. APK (2025)

Our alumni have gone on to various academic programs (including MS, PhD, and DPT training) and industry positions. Examples include:

  • Duke University (Durham, NC)
  • Georgia Institute of Technology (Atlanta, GA)
  • University of Windsor (Ontario, Canada)
  • University of Wisconsin-Madison (Madison, WI)
  • Arthrex (Naples, FL)
  • Badger Athletic Performance (Madison, WI)
  • ENERCON (Atlanta, GA)
  • Newell Brands (Atlanta, GA)

Interested in joining our team?

We welcome students and researchers who share our mission to understand and improve musculoskeletal health through AI and biomechanics.