Program Agenda
9:00 AM – 9:10 AM
Welcome Remarks
Sriram Balasubramanian, PhD, Meeting Chair
Welcome Remarks from Host Institution
Dr. Paul Brandt-Rauf, ScD, MD, DrPH, Dean, BIOMED, Drexel University
Session One: Development and Pediatric Disorders
9:10 AM – 9:20 AM
Keynote Lecture – Live presentation by Dr. Carl-Eric Aubin, Polytechnique Montreal
Title: Biomechanical Modeling and Simulation to Improve the Treatment of Complex Spine Deformities
9:20 AM – 9:25 AM
Live Q&A with Keynote Speaker
9:25 AM – 9:40 AM
Podium Presentations – Pre-recorded Video Presentations (5 minutes each)
Automated Vertebral Segmentation from Spinal Radiographs using a Convolutional Neural Network
Girish Viraraghavan
Drexel University
Most Important Predictive Features of Curve Progression in Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis Using Backward Elimination Method
Ausilah Alfraihat
Drexel University
Finite Element Simulation of Scoliosis Correction and Growth after Vertebral Body Tethering
Christian D’Andrea
Drexel University
9:40 AM – 9:50 AM
Live Q&A Panel with Podium Presenters
Session Two: Aging, Degeneration and Injury
9:50 AM – 10:00 AM
Keynote Lecture – Live Presentation by Dr. Lisbet Haglund, Montreal General Hospital
Title: Cell Senescence and Senolytic Drugs for Intervertebral Disc Ageing and Degeneration
10:00 AM – 10:05 AM
Live Q&A with Keynote Speaker
10:05 AM – 10:25 AM
Podium Presentations – Pre-recorded Video Presentations (5 minutes each)
Biomechanical Evaluation of Acute Lumbar Endplate Injury
Dalin Wang
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and Nanjing First Hospital, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
Bone Metabolism is an Early Predictor of Spinal Fractures
Helene Chesnais
University of Pennsylvania
Systemic deletion of SerpinA1 Models the Bone Loss and Intervertebral Disc Degeneration from Genetic Emphysema
Neharika Bhadouria
Indiana University-Purdue University
Shift in Dorsal Root Ganglia Gene Expression Profile After Intervertebral Disc Injury depending on Sex and Peripheral Pain Pathway
Jennifer Gansau
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
10:25 AM – 10:35 AM
Live Q&A Panel with Podium Presenters
10:35 AM – 10:55 AM
Podium Presentations – Pre-recorded Video Presentations (5 minutes each)
N-glycome of Notochordal Cell-rich Nucleus Pulposus During Ageing
Büşra Günay
National University of Ireland Galway
Sox9 Deletion Causes Severe Intervertebral Disc Degeneration Characterized by Apoptosis, Matrix Remodeling, and Compartment-specific Transcriptomic change
Maria Tsingas
Thomas Jefferson University
Elevated Inflammatory Gene Expression in Intervertebral Disc Tissues in Mice with ADAM8 Inactivated
Yejia Zhang
University of Pennsylvania
Phlpp1 Deficiency Decelerates Inflammation and Age-associated Intervertebral Disc Degeneration in Mice
Changli Zhang
Emory University
10:55 AM – 11:05 AM
Live Q&A Panel with Podium Presenters
Session Three: Therapeutics, Imaging and Biomarkers
11:05 AM – 11:15 AM
Keynote lecture – Live Presentation by Dr. Benjamin Walter, The Ohio State University
Title: Imaging Based Biomarkers for IVD Degeneration
11:15 AM – 11:20 AM
Live Q&A with Keynote Speaker
11:20 AM – 11:50 AM
Podium Presentations – Pre-recorded Video Presentations (5 minutes each)
Genipin-Crosslinked Fibrin Seeded with Oxidized Alginate Microbeads as a Novel Composite Biomaterial Strategy for Intervertebral Disc Cell Delivery
Christopher Panebianco
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
The Macroarchitecture of Biomimetic Proteoglycans is Responsible for the Micromolecular Engineering of Cartilage Pericellular Matrix
Elizabeth Kahle
Drexel University
The Combined Role of Tenomodulin and Chondromodulin-1 on Intervertebral Disc Biomechanical Function
Emily Ferreri
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Hydrogel Nucleoplasty Improves Disc Height and Condition in a Goat Model of Moderate-Severity Disc Degeneration
Alessandra Fusco
University of Pennsylvania, School of Veterinary Medicine
In Vivo Longitudinal Assessment of Chondroitinase-Induced Disc Degeneration in Goats via MRI and Radiographs
Kyle Meadows
University of Delaware
Predicting and Characterizing the Probability for Continued Opioid Use in the Chronic Low Back Pain Population using the novel Network Phenotyping Strategy Method
Ayesha Firdous
University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
11:50 AM – 12:05 PM
Live Q&A Panel with Podium Presenters
Session Four: COVID-19 Challenges and Equity / Diversity in Spine Research
12:05 PM – 12:20 PM
Keynote lecture – Live Presentation by Dr. Dawn Elliott, University of Delaware
Title: Racial Injustice and White Privilege: What a (White) Person in the Academy Can Do?
12:20 PM – 12:25 PM
Live Q&A with Keynote Speaker
12:25 PM – 12:30 PM
Podium Presentations – Pre-recorded Video Presentations (5 minutes each)
Recommendations to Increase Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in STEM fields – A Student’s Perspective
Virginia Orozco
Drexel University
12:30 PM – 12:35 PM
Live Q&A Panel with Podium Presenters
12:35 PM – 12:55 PM
Special Panel discussion on “Equity, Diversity and Inclusion in Academic, Research and Clinical Environments”
Panelists:
Dr. Dawn Elliott, Past-President – Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES)
Dr. Karma Foucher, Chair – Orthopedic Research Society (ORS) Diversity, Equity and Inclusivity Committee
Dr. Neil Malhotra, Associate Professor of Neurosurgery, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania
Moderator:
Dr. Anita Singh, Chair, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Widener University
12:55 PM – 1:00 PM
Student/Trainee Podium and Poster Presenter Awards, and Concluding Remarks
Symposium Format:
- Each session will begin with a Keynote speaker: Live presentation (10 minutes) followed by Live Q&A (5 minutes).
- Podium presentations (6 presentations per session): Pre-recorded video presentations (max 5 minutes duration each) with Live panel Q&A (max 15 minutes) at the end of each session.
- Poster Presentations (no limit per session): Links will be available to watch the Pre-recorded video presentations (max 5 minutes duration each) and emailed/archived Q&A. No posters will be needed.
