2026 Musculoskeletal Research Symposium
This year we are holding our symposium joint with the American Society of Biomechanics – East regional meeting, which is an exciting combination of researchers. Together ASB East, Delaware Center for Musculoskeletal Research, and the Center for Biomechanical Engineering Research will hold a two day symposium, which will create exciting additional cross-pollination and networking opportunities for all!
April 17-18, 2026
AUDION AT STAR TOWER
100 DISCOVERY BLVD., NEWARK, DE 19713
Keynote abstract
Kyle Allen
Finding Solutions for Chronic Joint Pain – A Vision of Forward and Reverse Translation
Dr. Allen is a Professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Florida, where he directs the Orthopedic Biomedical Engineering Laboratory. The centering question for his laboratory is ‘how do degenerative musculoskeletal diseases, like osteoarthritis, cause pain and disability?’ While seemingly simple, this question is quite complex, as the relationship between pathology and symptoms changes during the long, chronic stages of these diseases. To find answers to this problem, his research program takes an integrative approach to orthopedic research, seeking to understand the complex interactions between physiologic systems that drive orthopedic pain and disability. Here, his lab has continuously worked at the interface of engineering and physiology, first focusing on improving the evaluation and assessment of animal models of orthopedic pain and disability. His group has constructed a rigorous and thorough ‘preclinical test bed’ where they combine detailed evaluations of joint structure, inflammation, and pain to study the complexities of OA pathophysiology and connections between joint disease and development of OA symptoms. In doing so, his team is also advancing promising new approaches for the treatment of knee OA that span intra-articular drug delivery, rehabilitation techniques, and bioelectric medicine. In addition to his history evaluating small animal models of osteoarthritis, Dr. Allen took a scientific pivot during his 2020-2021 sabbatical. During this time, he founded the UF Pain Research and Intervention Center of Excellence’s Tissue and Data Repository with Dr. Yenisel Cruz-Almeida. Together, our team has pursued programs that bring together expertise in multiple research domains, including new partnerships with UF Orthopedics and UF Veterinary Medicine. Here, we are bridging gaps in the understanding of OA pain across species, yielding new insights in how to speed the translation of new and emerging therapies for chronic joint pain.
Program – subject to change
| 8:45 a.m. | Welcome: Dawn Elliott, DCMR Director and Liyun Wang, CBER Director |
| 9:00 a.m. | Keynote Lecture: Kyle Allen (University of Florida) “Finding Solutions for Chronic Joint Pain – A Vision of Forward and Reverse Translation” |
| 10:00 a.m. | Podium Session 1 |
| 11:15 a.m. | Flash Talks |
| Noon | Lunch |
| 12:30 p.m. | Poster Session 1 |
| 1:15 p.m. | Poster Session 2 |
| 2:00 p.m. | Podium Session 2 |
| 3:00 p.m. | Faculty Talks: |
| 3:45 p.m. | Awards |
| 5:00 p.m. | Social Event @ Grain Exchange |
Parking for the event:
