This grant will support young investigators at the 47th annual meeting of the Orthopaedic Research Society Musculoskeletal Biology Workshop being held in Sun Valley, Idaho, August 6-9, 2017. The workshop emphasizes active participation of junior faculty and students; promote interdisciplinary communication; and are unusual in that discussion time equals or exceeds time allotted for formal presentation. The goals of the workshop are to (1) Work toward a multidisciplinary basic and clinical synthesis of molecular, cellular, tissue and biomechanical processes that leads to understand the pathogenesis of musculoskeletal diseases, prevention and treatment; (2) Apply basic science concepts to clinical problems, developing a dialogue between basic and clinical investigators towards interdisciplinary collaboration; (3) Identify problems in musculoskeletal disease and experimental approaches that provide solutions to them; (4) Provide a forum for student training and the opportunity for junior scientists to talk with more senior scientists in a small group setting.
The workshop will continue the theme, "Solving Problems, Suggesting Solutions", targeting the basic science of the rare disease Fibrous Dysplasia and also of the chronic problem of Degenerative Disc Disease. Four sessions will address relevant and significant current problems, including progress in next-generation musculoskeletal therapies, imaging of musculoskeletal tissues, limitations and solutions for engineered animal models of disease, and finite element applications to clinical and basic science research. A notable feature of this Workshop is that it is becoming a truly musculoskeletal workshop, considering problems of musculoskeletal conditions beyond bone. Many opportunities are provided for junior investigators to interact with more senior investigators. A Career Development Workshop specifically geared toward young investigators will be held during one afternoon. This award will support travel awards for ten young investigators to attend this meeting. They will participate in the full meeting and in a special Sunday evening session devoted entirely to poster presentations, with some short poster presentations from the podium. All of their abstracts will be posted for public viewing on the ORS website prior to the Workshop.
