ORS Open Door 2023 took place on Friday, February 10, from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM CST at the UT Southwestern Medical campus.
ORS Open Door is an outreach activity aimed at communicating key aspects of orthopaedic and musculoskeletal science to the general public. The overarching goal of the event is to excite students about the possibility of future careers in musculoskeletal sciences, introducing them to a wide variety of professional pathways and the work performed by our ORS members. In 2023, our audience consisted of high school students considering college and future career plans, and middle school students choosing their educational trajectory. The focus of this event was outreach to underrepresented minorities and first-generation students in STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) fields, as the demographics of the participating school districts were over 60% Hispanic/Latinx and over 15% African American.
The program engaged participants in presentations and activities designed to teach about potential careers and topics related to musculoskeletal sciences. Events of the day featured four ORS speakers presenting short talks, a discussion panel of ORS members from under-represented minority backgrounds and first generation students, and three hands-on workshops/demos. The ORS partnered with STARS (Science Teacher Access to Resources at Southwestern) who provided space, A/V support, refreshments for the students (lunch), and registration.
2023 Speakers
2023 Workshops
John Drazan + 4 undergraduate assistants + 1 graduate assistant + 1 ECOTA volunteer
Location: NG3 Commons, Seating Capacity ~250
Event Goals:
- Introduce participants to the engineering design process within the context of sports performance and musculoskeletal heath.
- Provide a hands-on activity to engage participants in data collection pertaining to sports performance and musculoskeletal health.
This activity will introduce youth participants to scientific measurement through biomechanical analysis using DIY sport science tools created by students in the Fairfield School of Engineering. Each session will open with a discussion about the scientific method applied to activities outside of the traditional laboratory. We will introduce these students to a suite of tools developed at 4th Family Incorporated and the Fairfield School of Engineering that can be used to make measurements of athletic performance such as vertical jump height. Students will be broken into groups where they will develop a hypothesis of their choice pertaining to a question about athletic performance they find interesting. Student groups will have an opportunity to test this hypothesis using a device of their choice. Following a brief analysis, each group will briefly present their research to the rest of the group.
Carolyn Chlebek, Lara Pferdehirt, & Hope Welhaven + 2 ECOTA volunteers
Location: NG3 202 & 202A, Seating Capacity ~60
Event Goals:
- Provide a brief overview of cartilage and bone and the interaction between these tissues
- Engage in an activity that shows different ways to alter the cartilage and bone interaction
(e.g., trauma, obesity, rheumatoid arthritis, age, etc.)
Workshop plan:
Students will receive a model / makeshift knee and simulate changes occurring in a patient with a musculoskeletal issue. The knee will include simulated “cartilage” and “bone” that workshop leaders will build beforehand (out of household materials). Each student will receive a small booklet that gives them background information on the condition of their “patient”. The workshop will start with everyone having a healthy joint and then as they progress through their booklet, they see changes happening to their knee.
For example, one student could be assigned a patient that has experienced a traumatic sports injury and torn their ACL, as they go through each step, they will make changes to their knee. For this example, they will remove a piece of their model’s cartilage to simulate the initial injury. Then, they would progress to losing more of their cartilage, at the end having an infiltration of inflammatory cytokines (simulated by addition of red sticky candy) and growth of osteophytes (simulated by addition of hard marbles) to visualize the changes that happen and the issues that this can cause to their joint.
At each step in the process, the workshop will be paused to ask the students to share what ideas they have to mitigate whatever change they made to their joint (e.g., someone may suggest replace the missing cartilage with new tissue, leading to a discussion about tissue engineering). They will also be encouraged to talk to others around them to learn more about other diseases. To guide the discussion, a sheet with important information about bones and cartilage will be provided as reference material so they can better understand the changes happening to the joint model.
Sade Williams Clayton & Lara Varden + 2 graduate assistants + 2 ECOTA volunteers
Location: ND 218, Seating Capacity ~60
Event Goals:
- Introduce the anatomy, microstructure, and biomechanical movement of the spine
Workshop plan:
- Large group: Presentation of background and basic anatomy of spine (Sade; PowerPoint)
- ~5 min, Incorporating authentic human skeleton model loaned by UTSW
- Active learning stations (3 stations). Volunteers in breakout groups will assist with instructions and items. Handout/s will be given to students/attendees at end that provides summary of information covered
- Station 1: Microscopes – prestained slides of disc (functional unit from mice). Identify different tissues and structures. One projection microscope will be available for facilitator use & instruction (provided by Sade), and several “standard” light microscopes will be loaned by UTSW for hands-on use by student participants
- Students will be provided printouts for color and labeling or blank sheets for drawing images and labeling
- Station 2: Building a functional unit of spine (vertebra-disc-vertebra) using household materials. Wood or plastic blocks will be used as vertebra, cornstarch/glue/food coloring for NP, Pool noodle segments for AF, construction paper for CEP.
- Replicated mechanical instability and degenerative representation will be demonstrated via a cut in the AF/pool noodle (cuts done by ORS volunteers). Students will visualize movement & extrusions due to the insult.
- Station 3: Breaking down anatomical model for structure/function and discussion using skeletons and models and handouts and possible cut & paste project.
- Station 1: Microscopes – prestained slides of disc (functional unit from mice). Identify different tissues and structures. One projection microscope will be available for facilitator use & instruction (provided by Sade), and several “standard” light microscopes will be loaned by UTSW for hands-on use by student participants
About the ORS
For over 60 years, the Orthopaedic Research Society (ORS) has been the leading research society supporting engineers, orthopaedic surgeons, biologists, and clinicians in pursuit of a world without musculoskeletal limitations.
The ORS continues to bring together the best researchers and surgeons in the world and gives them a community to share new research findings, discuss new ideas and to collaborate in new and innovative ways. The ORS offers programs that teach, mentor and encourage our members while inspiring them to move the field of orthopaedic research forward.
Learn more about how you can advocate for increased funding for musculoskeletal research.
