TeleBACK - Clinical Trial

LaPricia Lewis Boyer

Back Pain Navigator / Senior Research Coordinator

LaPricia Lewis Boyér is a Senior Research Coordinator at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Her responsibilities include screening, recruiting and consenting eligible patients into the ARBOR-Telehealth study. As a point of contact for study participants she will help schedule PT visits, answer study related questions and keep in touch with participants throughout their year in the study. LaPricia loves her job and believes it is giving her the opportunity to help improve lives of individuals living with chronic pain.

Susan Collins

Back Pain Navigator / Senior Research Study Manager

Susan Collins is a Senior Research Study Manager with nearly 15 years of experience in orthopedic research at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Before coming to Baltimore, she worked on health research projects in Australia, Thailand, and South Korea.

Susan is committed to studying new approaches to improve quality of care and outcomes for people living with chronic low back pain. She will screen and enroll eligible participants into the TeleBACK study and help them navigate their physical therapy appointments and study-related activities.

Gabrielle Martino

Back Pain Navigator / Research Coordinator

Gabriele Martino is a Research Coordinator at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. She will be responsible for screening, recruiting, and consenting eligible patients for participation in the ARBOR-Telehealth study. Gabrielle has been involved in previous studies among patients with chronic low back pain at Johns Hopkins in the past and is passionate about her role in improving outcomes among patients with chronic low back pain.

Kevin McLaughlin, DPT

Principal Investigator

Dr. Kevin McLaughlin is a physical therapist at Johns Hopkins with over 10 years of experience treating patients with low back pain. His research is primarily focused on identifying disparities in access to physical therapy in underserved communities, as well as methods for improving access to care, such as telehealth.

Richard Skolasky, ScD

Principal Investigator

Dr. Richard Skolasky is a health services researcher at Johns Hopkins. For more than two decades, his research has focused on supporting patient engagement in healthcare through the identification of risk factors for poor treatment outcomes and development of interventions aimed at supporting patients on their journey to recovery following musculoskeletal diseases and injuries.

Elizabeth Colantuoni, PhD

Dr. Elizabeth Colantuoni is a Research Professor in the Department of Biostatistics at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Her previous work has focused on improving outcomes for critically ill patients. She will serve as lead statistician for this study, overseeing all analyses of collected data.

Stephen Wegener, PhD

Dr. Stephen Wegener is a Professor of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation in the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and Professor of Health Policy and Management in the Bloomberg School of Public Health Johns Hopkins University. His clinical activity is focused on providing psychological services to persons with traumatic injuries and chronic illness. His research focuses on theories and projects that improve function and reduce disability following injury or illness.

Tricia Kirkhart

Tricia Kirkhart is a Research Manager at Johns Hopkins University in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. She has contributed to a number of studies focused on individuals with chronic pain, including those with extremity trauma, burns, and low back pain. She is serving as study manager for the ARBOR-Telehealth study.

Adrianna Romero

Back Pain Navigator / Clinical Research Coordinator

Adrianna is from Nevada and moved to Utah to go to school. She is a first-generation Latina who completed her education at the University of Utah. Adrianna found the greatest satisfaction working in healthcare helping people. Adrianna's prior professional experience in clinical research has aimed at bridging the gap between healthcare and communities that have faced the greatest healthcare disparities.

Adrianna is a Clinical Research Coordinator on the Teleback study. She will oversee the team that coordinates study related activities and treatment scheduling.

Gabby Ranger

Back Pain Navigator / Research Assistant

Gabby was born and raised in the Arizona desert but has since then lived in a variety of places including Colorado, Chile, Colombia, and now Utah. After receiving her undergraduate degree in Biology from Arizona State University, she worked for a nutrition intervention program where she led bilingual workshops and developed curriculum to support healthier lifestyles. She enjoys connecting people to resources and is passionate about increasing access to care.

Gabby is a Research Assistant who will be a primary contact for helping individuals navigate study related activities and coordinating physical therapy scheduling.

Julie Fritz PT, PhD

Principle Investigator

Julie is originally from Indiana. She received her Physical Therapy degree from the University of Indianapolis, then went on to get a PhD from the University of Pittsburgh. She has devoted most of her career to teaching and doing research on treatments to help people with back pain. She is particularly interested in helping people learn strategies to manage their pain without needing pain medication.

Julie is the Principal Investigator for Teleback at the University of Utah. She is responsible for overseeing all University of Utah study personnel and monitoring research processes.

Elizabeth Lane PT, PhD

Study Manager

Elizabeth hails from the deep south, Alabama. She attended Auburn University for an undergraduate degree in Psychology, Medical College of Georgia for her Doctorate of Physical Therapy, and the University of Utah for her Ph.D. in Rehabilitation Sciences. She has worked in research for the past 10 years, focusing on conservative care for low back pain.

Elizabeth is a study manager on the Teleback study. She will be responsible for overseeing different components of study operations as well as ensuring the highest level of care is provided for individuals receiving in-person treatment.

Isaac Ford PT

Study Manager

Isaac is a New England native who earned his Doctorate of Physical Therapy from Ithaca College in New York. For the past 6 years he has worked across different organizations to develop telerehabilitation programs, train clinicians in this new mode of care delivery, and directly engage patients in remote rehabilitation programs. The things that Isaac enjoys most about his work are the collaborations and connections that are built when helping people achieve their functional potential.

Isaac is a study manager on the Teleback study. He will be responsible for overseeing different components of study operations as well as ensuring the highest level of care is provided for individuals receiving telehealth treatment.

Amelia Millward, MFA

Back Pain Navigator / Project Coordinator

Born and raised in Utah, Amelia is a Clinical Research Project Coordinator working in her third year at Intermountain Health. Before joining the team at Intermountain, Amelia lived in London where she completed a Masters of Fine Arts in Dance Science. Her personal research has been published and presented at multiple conferences.

Amelia's role in this study includes coordinating between practitioners and patients, assisting in enrolling participants and maintaining study records.

Emma Wilkinson, MS

Back Pain Navigator / Clinical Research Coordinator

Emma is a Clinical Research Coordinator for the TeleBACK study. Her responsibilities include recruiting and enrolling new participants. Emma earned her undergraduate degree from Brigham Young University-Hawaii in biology and later received a Master of Science degree in epidemiology from the University of Pittsburgh.

Maha Maleki

Back Pain Navigator / Clinical Research Coordinator

Maha is a first-generation immigrant from Iran. She completed her undergraduate degree at University of Utah. She will be responsible for recruiting and scheduling patients for the Teleback study. Her professional interest include research compliance, participant engagement, and improvement of patient outcomes through clinical investigation.

Dioselyn Cruz, MS

Back Pain Navigator / Clinical Research Coordinator

Dioselyn is a Clinical Research Coordinator with over two years of experience at Intermountain Health. She recently earned her master's degree in biomedical informatics and holds a bachelor's degree in public health. Originally from the West, Dioselyn now resides in Florida, where she's enjoying life on the East Coast. Outside of research, she loves spending time outdoors, trying new foods, and relaxing at the beach whenever she can.

Kate Minick, PT, DPT, PhD

Intermountain Site Principal Investigator

Dr. Kate Minick is the Director of Research for Rehabilitation Services and an Assistant Professor for Clinical Investigation at Intermountain Health. She graduated with her Doctorate in Physical Therapy from the University of Evansville and completed her PhD at the University of Utah. Her research focuses on the value of physical therapy in a changing healthcare environment and the implementation of best practices.