Gait and upper extremity key staff
Luciano S. Dias, MD, Medical director, Motion Analysis Center
John Sarwark, MD, Medical consultant
Erik King, MD, Medical consultant
Tasos Karakostas, MPT, PhD, Manager/Biomedical engineer
Tasos joined the Motion Analysis Center in 2008 after starting his graduate studies at the bioengineering unit of Starthclyde University in Scotland and completed them at Michigan State University (MSU), where he received his MSc in biomechanics, and at Ohio State University (OSU) where he received his PhD in biomedical engineering, specializing in computational biomechanics and minoring in biomaterials and physical medicine and rehabilitation. He then received a master's degree in physical therapy at Texas Tech University (TTU), while holding a fifty percent administrative appointment as the director of the Gait Evaluation Laboratory. His experience with motion analysis started at Starthclyde University as a member of Professor’s J.P. Paul team, continued in the US at MSU in the Biomechanics Evaluation Laboratory with Professor Souttas-Little, at OSU in the Gait Analysis Laboratory, and at TTU where he designed the Center for Clinical and Rehabilitation Assessment and designed and implemented, as part of that center, a Gait Evaluation Laboratory. Under his directorship and with the assistance of Drs. Meriffield and Brooke (assistant dean and dean respectively), the center accounted for all motion analysis needs of West Texas and Eastern New Mexico.
As part of his academic experiences he has performed funded research and has published and presented findings both nationally and internationally. He has been a guest lecturer for courses in the physical therapy curriculum at TTUHSC and for the department of industrial engineering at TTU. At MUSC he was a member of the faculty in the physical therapy program, a core faculty member of exercise motion and rehabilitation research, and the director of the MUSC Motion Analysis Laboratory he designed and set-up, and co-director of the Animal Motion Analysis Laboratory he designed and set-up.
Claudia Kelp-Lenane, Physical therapist
Claudia Kelp-Lenane is a senior physical therapist who has worked in the Motion Analysis Center since 1991 and in the physical therapy department at Children's Memorial Hospital since 1977. Claudia graduated from the University of Iowa and gained experience in Ann Arbor, Michigan, as well as the Salisbury Health District and King's College Hospital in London, England. Additionally, she has maintained a private practice in physical therapy over the past several years. One of Claudia's specialty is the treatment of children with neuromuscular disorders. She has shared her extensive knowledge in the use of gait analysis for the treatment of children with myelomeningocele by teaching instructional courses at national conferences such as the American Academy of Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Medicine (AACPDM). Furthermore, Claudia has co-authored two chapters in the book, Caring for the Child with Spina Bifida (2001), and has participated in several research projects within the Motion Analysis Center adding several abstracts and papers to her name. Claudia is also the physical therapist in the sports biomechanics program in the Motion Analysis Center.
Melissa Colthrust, MS, Kinesiologist
Melissa joined the Motion Analysis Center in 2006 after earning a Bachelor of Science degree in kinesiology from Illinois State Univeristy (ISU) and then continued her education obtaining a Master of Science degree in clinical and sports biomechanics from Ball State University (BSU), Indiana. Prior to graduating, Melissa worked in the Biomechanics Laboratory at BSU as a research assistant under Dr. Eric Dugan, PhD, where she assisted in expanding the motion laboratory to an offsite facility in collaboration with MidWest Health Strategies. Her graduate research included the effect of hormone levels on knee stiffness in women. She has presented introductory gait analysis in-services to 1st year residents and undergraduate students and also co-taught an instructional course at the AACPDM in the area of clinical gait interpretation in spina bifida.
Laura Mays, MS, Biomedical engineer
Laura joined the Motion Analysis Center staff in 2006 after working as a research assistant in the Falk Neurorehabiliation Lab at Marquette University. She earned both her undergraduate and graduate degrees from Marquette University in biomedical engineering with an emphasis on biomechanics and graduate work in neurorehabilitation. Her research interests there were focused on arm biomechanics and robotics in rehabilitation. Her research and publications have been presented at numerous national and international conferences. She has presented 1st year residents and undergraduate students numerous introductory gait analysis in-services and also co-taught an instructional course at the AACPDM in the area of clinical gait interpretation in spina bifida.