Mohanraj Thirumalai

Mohanraj Thirumalai
Associate Professor

Associate Scientist (C), Center for Clinical and Translational Science (CCTS) , General Clinical Research Center
Director, School of Health Professions - Research Collaborative , School of Health Professions
Associate Professor (P), Health Services Administration , School of Health Professions
Dir of Performance Analytics, Health Services Administration , School of Health Professions
Associate Scientist (C), Nutrition Obesity Res Center (NORC) , Nutrition Sciences Research
Associate Scientist (C), Civitan International Research Center , Academic Joint Departments

Overview

Dr.Thirumalai is an Assistant Professor teaching in the MS in Health Informatics program at UAB. He serves as a Co-Director of UAB's Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center on Interactive Exercise Technologies and Exercise Physiology for People with Disabilities (funded by NIDILRR/ACL/HHS). He is the Director of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) for the UAB/Lakeshore Research Collaborative and leads and directs the various ICT initiatives for several centers/projects including the National Center on Health, Physical Activity and Disability (funded by CDC), multiple NIH-R01s, a PCORI funded comparative effectiveness trial and multiple NIDILRR funded projects.

He has been involved in technology development and research related to improving the health and function of people with disabilities for the last 19 years. He has received multiple pilot grants and an award for his artificial intelligence supported health coaching platform for glycemic control in people with disabilities.

He conceptualized, designed and developed the largest online physical activity intervention for people with disabilities that has served more than 40,000 people since its launching in 2012. His dissertation focused on “Online Health Behavior Change Using Social Media”.

Selected Publications

Academic Article

Year	Title	Altmetric
2023	Usability of the GAIMplank Video Game Controller for People With Mobility Impairments: Observational Study. JMIR Serious Games. 11. 2023
2022	Scale Up Project Evaluating Responsiveness to Home Exercise And Lifestyle Tele-Health (SUPER-HEALTH): Preliminary Findings. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. 103:e121. 2022
2022	An Interactive Voice Response System to Increase Physical Activity and Prevent Cancer in the Rural Alabama Black Belt: Design and Usability Study. JMIR Human Factors. 9. 2022
2021	The Spinal Cord Injury Program in Exercise (SCIPE) study: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial evaluating teleexercise programs for people with spinal cord injury. Trials. 22. 2021
2021	The movement-to-music (M2M) study: study protocol for a randomized controlled efficacy trial examining a rhythmic teleexercise intervention for people with physical disabilities. Trials. 22. 2021
2021	Teleassessments for enrollment of adults with physical or mobility disability in a home-based exercise trial in response to covid-19: Usability study. JMIR Formative Research. 5. 2021
2021	POWERSforID: Personalized online weight and exercise response system for individuals with intellectual disability: A randomized controlled trial. Disability and Health Journal. 14. 2021
2021	Disability-inclusive diabetes self-management telehealth program: Protocol for a pilot and feasibility study. JMIR Research Protocols. 10. 2021
2021	Telehealth behavioral intervention for diabetes management in adults with physical disabilities: Intervention fidelity protocol for a randomized controlled trial. JMIR Research Protocols. 10. 2021
2021	Active Video Gaming Using an Adapted Gaming Mat in Youth and Adults with Physical Disabilities: Observational Study. JMIR Serious Games. 9. 2021
2021	Challenges and lessons learned from a telehealth community paramedicine program for the prevention of hypoglycemia: pre-post pilot feasibility study. JMIR Diabetes. 6. 2021
2021	Disability-Inclusive Diabetes Self-management Telehealth Program: Protocol for a Pilot and Feasibility Study (Preprint) 2021
2021	Telehealth Behavioral Intervention for Diabetes Management in Adults With Physical Disabilities: Intervention Fidelity Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial (Preprint) 2021
2021	Design and rationale for the deep south interactive voice response system-supported active lifestyle study: Protocol for a randomized controlled trial. JMIR Research Protocols. 10. 2021
2021	Teleassessments for Enrollment of Adults With Physical or Mobility Disability in a Home-Based Exercise Trial in Response to COVID-19: Usability Study (Preprint) 2021
2021	An Interactive Voice Response System to Increase Physical Activity and Prevent Cancer in the Rural Alabama Black Belt: Design and Usability Study (Preprint) 2021
2021	Design and Rationale for the Deep South Interactive Voice Response System–Supported Active Lifestyle Study: Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial (Preprint) 2021
2021	Correction: Correlates of adherence in a home-based, self-managed exercise program tailored to wheelchair users with spinal cord injury (Spinal Cord, (2021), 59, 1, (55-62), 10.1038/s41393-020-0497-4). Spinal Cord. 59:92. 2021
2021	Correlates of adherence in a home-based, self-managed exercise program tailored to wheelchair users with spinal cord injury. Spinal Cord. 59:55-62. 2021
2021	Critical factors influencing the decision to enroll in a physical activity intervention among a predominant group of adults with spinal cord injury: a grounded theory study. Spinal Cord. 59:17-25. 2021
2020	Effects of interactive voice response (Ivr) counseling on physical activity benefits and barriers. Health behavior and policy review. 7:407-415. 2020
2020	Enhancing Transitions From Rehabilitation Patient to Wellness Participant for People With Disabilities: An Opportunity for Hospital Community Benefit. Frontiers in Public Health. 8. 2020
2020	Developing a decision support system for exercise engagement among individuals with conditions causing mobility impairment: Perspectives of fitness facility fitness exercisers and adapted fitness center trainer. Technology and Disability. 32:295-305. 2020
2020	Lessons learned from a blended telephone/e-health platform for caregivers in promoting physical activity and nutrition in children with a mobility disability. Disability and Health Journal. 13. 2020
2019	Feedback and strategies from people with intellectual disability completing a personalized online weight loss intervention: A qualitative analysis 2019
2019	Exercise Training Guidelines for Multiple Sclerosis, Stroke, and Parkinson Disease: Rapid Review and Synthesis. American Journal of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. 98:613-621. 2019
2019	Comparison of Energy Expenditure in Wheelchair Users During Active Video Gaming with Adapted Game Controllers. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise. 51:166-167. 2019
2019	Sedentary Adult Characteristics and Exercise Benefits and Barriers: Associations in an Interactive Voice Response Study. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise. 51:726-726. 2019
2019	Comparing the convergent and concurrent validity of the dynamic gait index with the berg balance scale in people with multiple sclerosis. Healthcare. 7. 2019
2019	Rationale and design of a Scale-Up Project Evaluating Responsiveness to Home Exercise and Lifestyle Tele-Health (SUPER-HEALTH) in people with physical/mobility disabilities: A type 1 hybrid design effectiveness trial. BMJ Open. 9. 2019
2019	A mobile app to promote adapted exercise and social networking for people with physical disabilities: Usability study. JMIR Formative Research. 3. 2019
2019	Energy expenditure and enjoyment during active video gaming using an adapted wii fit balance board in adults with physical disabilities: Observational study. JMIR Serious Games. 7. 2019
2018	Rationale and design of the tele-exercise and multiple sclerosis (TEAMS) study: A comparative effectiveness trial between a clinic- and home-based telerehabilitation intervention for adults with multiple sclerosis (MS) living in the deep south. Contemporary Clinical Trials. 71:186-193. 2018
2018	A Mobile App to Promote Adapted Exercise and Social Networking for People With Physical Disabilities: Usability Study (Preprint) 2018
2018	A Multilevel Patient Engagement Model for Recruiting Hard-to-Reach Populations into Exercise Training Studies. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise. 50:447. 2018
2018	Adapted Wii Fit Controller for Active Videogaming in Individuals with Mobility Impairments. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise. 50:671. 2018
2018	Teams (Tele-exercise and multiple sclerosis), a tailored telerehabilitation mhealth app: Participant-centered development and usability study. JMIR mHealth and uHealth. 6. 2018
2018	Adapting the wii fit balance board to enable active video game play by wheelchair users: User-centered design and usability evaluation. JMIR Rehabilitation and Assistive Technologies. 20. 2018
2018	TEAMS (Tele-Exercise and Multiple Sclerosis), a Tailored Telerehabilitation mHealth App: Participant-Centered Development and Usability Study (Preprint) 2018
2017	POWERS forID: Personalized Online Weight and Exercise Response System for Individuals with Intellectual Disability: Study protocol for a randomized controlled trial. Trials. 18. 2017
2017	Assessment of active video gaming using adapted controllers by individuals with physical disabilities: A protocol. JMIR Research Protocols. 6. 2017
2016	Active Videogaming in Youth with Physical Disability: Gameplay and Enjoyment. Games for Health Journal. 5:333-341. 2016
2016	Perspectives on Active Video Gaming as a New Frontier in Accessible Physical Activity for Youth With Physical Disabilities. Physical Therapy. 96:521-532. 2016
2004	A system for multiattribute drug product comparison.. Journal of Medical Systems. 28:31-56. 2004
2004	A system for multiattribute drug product comparison. Journal of Medical Systems. 28:31-56. 2004

Chapter

Year	Title	Altmetric
2020	Enhancing Transitions from Rehabilitation Patient to Wellness Participant for People with Disabilities: An Opportunity for Hospital Community Benefit 2020

Research Overview

Telehealth, User Experience, Artificial intelligence, Geotagging of crowdsourced resources to promote community based physical activity, Accessible active video gaming controllers, Smart health coaching platforms with self-contained people with disability specific knowledge bases, Online knowledge-bases for access barriers in the built environment for increased physical activity, web and mobile based health behavior change platforms, and other areas of health informatics.

Principal Investigator On

AI4CHRON - An Accessible and Inclusive Artificial Intelligence Assisted Chronic Disease Self-Management Telehealth Platform awarded by Administration for Community Living/DHHS

Field Initiated Projects Program (Development) awarded by Administration for Community Living/DHHS

Gamified Optimized Diabetes-Management with AI Powered Rural Telehealth (GODART) awarded by National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases/NIH/DHHS

Is a Blended Residential/eHealth Lifestyle Intervention for Improving Cardiovascular Health and Managing Pain in At-Risk Individuals with Spinal Cord Injury More Effective Than An eHealth Program Alone? awarded by LAKESHORE FOUNDATION

Private Grant awarded by KAMIN CONSULTING INC

RERC on Recreation, Sport, and Exercise Technologies for People with Disabilities awarded by Administration for Community Living/DHHS

mHealth-based Just-In-Time Adaptive Intervention to Improve Physical Activity Levels of Individuals with Spinal Cord Injury awarded by Temple University

Investigator On

Comparative Effectiveness Trial Between a Clinic- and Home-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine Telerehabilitation Intervention for Adults with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) awarded by PATIENT CENTERED OUTCOMES RESEARCH INSTITUTE

Disability and Rehabilitation Research Program awarded by Administration for Community Living/DHHS

Dose-Response Effects of Transformative Exercise in Improving Health and Function in Adults with Spinal Cord Injury and Multiple Sclerosis awarded by Department of Education

Examining the Effects of Live Telehealth Exercise training on Cardiometabolic Outcomes in wheelchair Users awarded by National Institute of Child Health and Human Development/NIH/DHHS

Feasibility of the First Known Adaptive Intervention Delivering Innovative Exercise Program Optimized for People with SCI awarded by Neilsen (Craig H.) Foundation

Improving Health Care Quality through Health IT for Persons with Intellectual Disabilities awarded by Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality/DHHS

Interactive Exercise Technologies and Exercise Physiology for People with Disabilities awarded by Department of Education

Internet Based System for Managing Obesity in Children with Disabilities awarded by National Institute of Child Health and Human Development/NIH/DHHS

National Center on Health Physical Activity and Disability awarded by CDC - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/DHHS

National Center on Health, Physical Activity and Disability awarded by CDC - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/DHHS

POWERSforID: A Telehealth Weight Management System for Adults with ID awarded by UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS (CHICAGO)

Private Grant awarded by TKC GLOBAL SOLUTIONS, LLC

RERC On Exercise And Recreational Technologies For People With Disabilities (RECTECH IV) awarded by Administration for Community Living/DHHS

Rehabilitation Engineering Research Centers awarded by Administration for Community Living/DHHS

Scale Up Evaluation of a Physical Activity Program for Adults with Physical Disability awarded by National Institute of Child Health and Human Development/NIH/DHHS

Scale-Up of an Innovative, Evidence-Based Movement 2-Music (M2M) Intervention for Adults with Physical/Mobility Disability awarded by Administration for Community Living/DHHS

Testing Scalable, IVR-Supported Cancer Prevention Interventions in the Rural Alabama Black Belt awarded by National Cancer Institute/NIH/DHHS

University of Alabama at Birmingham Traumatic Brain Injury Model System awarded by Administration for Community Living/DHHS

Teaching Overview

Dr. Thirumalai teaches in the User Experience track of the MS in Health Informatics program at UAB. His course titled "Managing the user-centered development process" focuses on training the students with applied knowledge on building user-friendly and effective health information technologies.