About Us

Research shows that exercise can positively impact mobility, strength, balance and quality of life for people with Parkinson's.

MDT Education Solutions is an Atlanta based company formed in 2014 to provide education opportunities that will expand access to quality exercise options for people with Parkinson's disease. The founders, Dr. Madeleine Hackney and Dr. Tricia Creel brought together their expertise from research, physical therapy practice, professional dance, and group exercise to create a comprehensive training program to equip exercise instructors to meet the challenges of leading specialized classes. They are committed to equipping exercise leaders to provide safe, evidence-based, effective programming as an important tool for helping people manage Parkinson's disease progression.

Dr. Madeleine E. Hackney, Ph.D, Certified ACE Personal Trainer

Dr. Hackney holds a BFA in Dance from New York University, Tisch School of the Arts, and a Ph.D. in Movement Science from Washington University in St. Louis. She has also been an American Council on Exercise (ACE) certified personal trainer since 2000. She is a Research Health Scientist at the Atlanta VA Center for Visual and Neurocognitive Rehabilitation and an Associate Professor of Medicine, in the division of General Medicine and Geriatrics, Department of Medicine, Emory School of Medicine. She had a successful professional dance career and taught fitness, Pilates, yoga and dance classes before graduate school. Currently, Dr. Hackney's research aims to determine the characteristics of physical rehabilitative strategies, in terms of movement pattern and timing, dosage, duration, and intensity to enhance balance, mobility and quality of life and reducing fall risk for older adults with low vision as well as those with Parkinson's. Her research has received media coverage in the New York Times, Scientific American, the Atlanta Journal Constitution, National Public Radio and in Musicophilia, by Oliver Sachs. Dr. Hackney has presented her work about exercise for those with PD at international meetings, such as the Movement Disorders Society, the International Society for Posture and Gait Research, the Society for Neuroscience, the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine- American Society of Neurorehabilitation Joint Educational Conference and the Gerontological Society of America.

Dr. Tricia H. Creel, PT, DPT, NCS, MSCS

Dr. Tricia Creelis a physical therapist with Washington University in St Louis, MO. Prior to that she served as Health and Wellness Director at the Stephen A. Orthwein Center at Paraquad, an adapted fitness center for people with disabilities. She has also worked for the American Parkinson Disease Association - Greater St. Louis Chapter as Program Coordinator where she oversaw all exercise programming and led exercise classes in multiple formats. Tricia earned her Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the University of North Carolina and received her Doctorate of Physical Therapy in 2009 from Georgia State University. Tricia specializes in the treatment of neurologic disorders, with an emphasis on Parkinson’s disease and has treated patients with PD is a range of settings. Her other clinical interests include vestibular rehabilitation and balance impairments. Tricia is a Board Certified Neurologic Specialist (NCS) and a Multiple Sclerosis Certified Specialist (MSCS). She is also certified in vestibular rehabilitation. She has written articles for the American Parkinson Disease Association (APDA) on physical therapy for Parkinson’s disease, as well as presented at local and national conferences on Parkinson’s disease and post-rehabilitation wellness. She has contributed to research on freezing of gait and is a co-author with Dr. Hackney on several book chapters.

Publications

Dr. Hackney's research focuses on rehabilitative physical interventions (exercise and dance-based) for older populations and those with Parkinson's disease. Here are a few of her recent publications.

  • Associations between music and dance relationships, rhythmic proficiency, and spatiotemporal movement modulation ability in adults with and without mild cognitive impairment 04/8400/1703 Authors: Slusarenko A; Rosenberg MC; Kazanski ME; McKay JL; Emmery L; Kesar TM; Hackney ME

  • An integrated review of music cognition and rhythmic stimuli in sensorimotor neurocognition and neurorehabilitation Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences Volume: 1530 Page(s): 74 - 86 40/6800/1701 Authors: Emmery L; Hackney ME; Kesar T; McKay JL; Rosenberg MC

  • A telemedicine falls risk program to prevent falls among older adults: Study protocol for a randomized quality improvement trial. (Preprint) 50/6000/1699 Authors: Rein DB; Hackney ME; Sublett F; Moreland B; Imhoff L; Peterson C; Legha JK; Mark J; Vaughan CP; Johnson II TM

  • Interpretive Qualitative Evaluation Informs Research Participation and Advocacy Training Program for Seniors: A Pilot Study. Healthcare (Basel) Volume: 11 30/5600/1696 Authors: Bay AA; Tian T; Hackney ME; Silverstein HA; Hart AR; Lazris D; Perkins MM

  • Biomechanical effect of neurologic dance training (NDT) for breast cancer survivors with chemotherapy-induced neuropathy: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial and preliminary baseline data. Trials Volume: 24 Page(s): 564 54/0800/1693 Authors: Lantis K; Schnell P; Bland CR; Wilder J; Hock K; Vargo C; Glover NA; Hackney ME; Lustberg MB; Worthen-Chaudhari L

We are proud to have trained health and fitness professionals for many great organizations.