Travel Request: Summit of Experts in Biomechanics

Massachusetts Institute Of Technology, Cambridge MA

Investigators

Abstract

PROPOSAL NO.: CTS-0628461 PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATORS: R. D. KAMM INSTITUTION: MIT SUMMIT OF EXPERTS IN BIOMECHANICS WORKSHOP This grant provides partial funding for the 'Summit of Experts in Biomechanics'. Biomechanics is currently experiencing a period of dynamic growth, expanding beyond its traditional boundaries to encompass mechanics at the cellular and molecular levels, recently given the term 'mechanobiology'. At the same time, traditional areas of biomechanics, at all levels of hierarchy from organism to molecule, are evolving to embrace new computational and experimental technologies as well as new advances in molecular and cell biology. For example, it is now widely recognized that mechanical forces influence a variety of biological functions, and that mechanical pathways operate in parallel with biological ones with numerous opportunities for interaction between the two, raising the prospect of using force to intervene and control biological outcomes. The time is therefore ripe for a comprehensive assessment of biomechanics and its directions for the next 10 years and beyond. To address this need, the US National Committee on Biomechanics is holding a two-day Summit of Experts in Biomechanics to be held in the Washington, D.C. area in October- November, 2006. Meeting attendance will be limited to approximately 80 participants by invitation only. Special provisions will be made to include a representative group of junior investigators and students. Following the Summit, the views and recommendations of the Summit will be collected and formulated into a white paper for the National Research Council. Separate summaries, either a single document or multiple publications, will be prepared and published in several archival journals.