? The long-standing traditions of SPRBM will be preserved and enhanced in the 25th annual meeting. The specific objectives of this R13 conference grant application are two-fold. The first is to provide funding support to junior researchers, including junior faculty, postdoctoral fellows, and graduate students whose submitted papers have been selected for presentation on the basis of scientific merits. Two speakers in each oral session will be a junior faculty, and a graduate student/postdoctoral fellow whose abstracts have been chosen for high scientific merit and broad implications. The meeting will provide a platform for the development of long-term interdisciplinary interactions, and expose researchers in the musculoskeletal tissue engineering to the latest ideas and opportunities at the confluence of functional tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. The second objective of this R13 application is to support the recruitment of women, underrepresented minorities, and disabled persons to attend the meeting and present their scientific research. ? The specific aims of this meeting are: ? Aim #1: Delineate the current status of function tissue engineering. Leaders in the functional tissue engineering field will give an overview of functional tissue engineering concepts and review the current state of functional tissue engineering in musculoskeletal tissues, including cartilages, bone, tendons, and ligaments. ? Aim #2: Brainstorm the applications of biomaterials in supporting functional tissue engineering. Leaders in the field of biomaterials will review the current state-of-art in the fabrication and modification of novel and smart biomaterials that promote the proliferation and differentiation of stem cells to enhance the wound healing of musculoskeletal tissues. ? ? ? ?
