Research Symposium -2021

CBER Spotlight Research Symposium

Friday, May 21, 2021

Since 2003, we have hosted annual in-person “CBER Day” with inspiring keynote speeches and enthusiastic student presentations. It has been a highlight for our community. Unfortunately, we had to cancel the 2021 event due to COVID. To continue our tradition while comply with safety precautions, we decide to have a “virtual” panel discussion led by faculty on Friday May 21, 2021. We are excited to have our spotlight speaker, Drs. James Iatridis from Mount Sinai School of Medicine and Daniel Ferris from University of Florida, as well as six CBER faculty to discuss cutting-edge research on joint degeneration, pain and repair, and robotics and rehabilitation. The talks cover basic translational and clinical studies.

Keynote Speaker Session 1: Dr. James Iatridis

Title: Biomaterial Strategies for Repair and Regeneration of the Annulus Fibrosus

James C. Iatridis, PhD is the Mount Sinai Endowed Chair in Orthopaedic Research, and Vice Chair for Research in Orthopaedics at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City. James received his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Columbia University, was a Post-doctoral Fellow in Orthopaedics at the University of Vermont, became Professor of Biomedical Engineering at UVM, then moved to Mount Sinai in 2010. His research, published in over 170 papers, is focused on prevention and treatment of painful intervertebral disc degeneration. He was awarded the US Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE), the Berton Rahn Research Prize of the AO Foundation, and the North American Spine Society Henry Farfan Award in Basic Science Research among others. Dr. Iatridis is a Fellow of the Orthopaedic Research Society, International Combined Orthopaedic Research Societies, and the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering. He has created 2 graduate degree programs in biomedical engineering, serves on editorial boards of multiple journals, previously Chaired the NIH SBSR study section, was inaugural Chair of the Orthopaedic Research Society Spine Section, and just completed his term on the Presidential Line of the Orthopaedic Research Society.

For more information, please see Iatridis Lab and Orthopaedic Research Lab pages.

Abstract-
Degenerated intervertebral discs (IVDs) are commonly implicated in low back pain with few minimally invasive treatments. Painful IVD degeneration is associated with structural disruption including herniation of nucleus pulposus tissues through annulus fibrosus defects. Dr. Iatridis will present on strategies to promote repair and regeneration of annulus fibrosus defects. The talk will provide the audience with an understanding of the clinical, biomaterial, biomechanical, and biological factors in intervertebral disc herniation and strategies to repair and regenerate the intervertebral disc.

Keynote Speaker Session 2: Dr. Daniel Ferris

Title: Embodiment for Bionic Prostheses and Robotic Exoskeletons

Daniel Ferris is the Robert W. Adenbaum Professor of Engineering Innovation at the University of Florida. His research focuses on the biomechanics and neural control of human locomotion, specifically in regard to human-machine interactions (mechanical and electrical). Current projects include technology development and basic science research using mobile brain imaging, robotic lower limb exoskeletons, and bionic lower limb prostheses. Dr. Ferris completed his Ph.D. at UC Berkeley, M.S. at the University of Miami, and B.S. at the University of Central Florida. After completing postdoctoral fellowships at the UCLA Department of Neurology and the University of Washington Department of Electrical Engineering, he joined the faculty at the University of Michigan for 16 years. In 2017, Dr. Ferris moved to the J. Crayton Pruitt Family Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Florida. He is Editor-in-Chief of the IEEE Transactions on Neural Systems and Rehabilitation Engineering and Chair of the NIH Musculoskeletal Rehabilitation Sciences study section.

For more information, please see Dr. Ferris and his Human Neuromechanics Lab pages.

Abstract-
Robotic technologies have greatly advanced in recent years, enabling the creation of bionic prostheses and exoskeletons. One of the major roadblocks for both prostheses and exoskeletons has been developing control approaches for natural and smooth motions of human and machine together. One possibility to achieve better control of wearable robotic devices is to obtain feedforward neural commands from the user. Dan Ferris will present on research aimed at merging humans and machines, outlining the major obstacles remaining to produce truly cooperative human-machine systems.

Program – subject to change

9:00	Welcome & Introductory Remarks	CBER Director: Liyun Wang
9:05	Keynote Lecture Session 1 Title: Biomaterial Strategies for Repair and Regeneration of the Annulus Fibrosus	James Iatridis, PhD
9:35	Panel Talks & Discussion with UD Faculty	X. Lucas Lu, Dawn Elliott, & Daniel White
10:25	Break
10:45	Keynote Lecture Session 2 Title: Embodiment for Bionic Prostheses and Robotic Exoskeletons	Daniel Ferris, PhD
11:15	Panel Talks & Discussion with UD Faculty	Panos Artemiadis, Fabrizio Sergi & Sambeeta Das
12:05	Adjorn