6^th Annual Orthopedic Research Symposium & D’Ambrosia Diversity Lectureship

Wednesday, October 23^rd at Elliman Conference Center on Anschutz Medical Campus & Zoom

The 6th Annual CU Orthopedic Research Symposium and D’Ambrosia Diversity Lectureship will be held Wednesday, October 23rd, 2024, at the Elliman Conference Center on the Anschutz Medical Campus. Attendees have the option to attend virtually over Zoom. Pre-registration is required, as room capacity is limited, and walk-in registrants may be turned away for this reason only. 

Breakfast and check-in begin at 8:30 a.m. Lectures begin at 9:30 a.m. This event will include pre-and post-doctoral trainee presentations, two poster sessions, a Scientific Keynote Lecture, and a Diversity Keynote Lecture. The symposium will conclude with an awards ceremony recognizing the top research. After the awards ceremony, all attendees are invited to attend the D’Ambrosia Diversity Reception from 5-6:30 p.m. Light refreshments will be served. For attendees who would like to stay overnight, you are welcome to utilize our discounted university rate at any of these area hotels.

Since its inception in 2019, each of our symposia has welcomed >200 attendees, hosted up to 100 posters, and has been sponsored by several local and national industry partners in combination with the Mack Clayton Endowment. Top science has been showcased by the University of Colorado Department of Orthopedics, numerous other clinical and basic science departments in the CU system, and Universities across the front range including Colorado State University, Colorado School of Mines, University of Denver, Steadman Philippon Research Institute, University of Northern Colorado, University of South Dakota, and the University of New Mexico.

2024 Keynote Speakers

This year’s D’Ambrosia Diversity Keynote is Toni M. McLaurin, MD. Dr. McLaurin is a Professor of Orthopedic Surgery at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine, Chief of the Orthopedic Service at NYC Health+Hospitals/Bellevue, and part of the Trauma Division of NYU Langone Orthopedics. She is also the Vice Chair of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for NYU Langone Orthopedics. A native of Ann Arbor, Michigan, she is a graduate of Harvard College and the University of Michigan Medical School. She completed her orthopedic surgery residency training at the Michigan State University Orthopedic Surgery Residency in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and an orthopedic trauma fellowship at Emory University, where she stayed on as faculty for six more years. She then joined the orthopedic department at NYU Langone Orthopedics where she has been actively involved in the teaching and training of orthopedic residents with a practice focus on the management of both acute and reconstructive trauma. She also completed a master's in medical informatics at the Northwestern University School of Professional Studies. She has recently served as a Member-at-Large of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) and is an active member of the Orthopaedic Trauma Association, AO Trauma, and the J Robert Gladden Orthopaedic Society, participating in committees as well as many teaching and mentoring activities. She has been actively involved in resident education, both formal and informal mentoring, and diversity initiatives her entire career and has won numerous teaching and mentoring awards.

Our Scientific Keynote for this year’s symposium is Gregory D. Myer, PhD. Dr. Myer brings over two decades of experience to lead the activities at Emory Sports Performance And Research Center (SPARC) located at the Atlanta Falcons Flowery Branch headquarters. Dr. Myer previously supported the founding of and directed The SPORT Center and The Human Performance Laboratory in the Division of Sports Medicine at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center. He has published over 480 medical manuscripts (h-Index Scopus: 91; Google Scholar: 123; Total Citations:>62,000) and is recognized as an international leader in the field of athletic injury biomechanics, injury prevention clinical trials, and human performance neuroscience. Dr. Myer is commonly an invited expert speaker at national and international symposia. He has received numerous awards for his team’s excellence in research is certified with Distinction and is a recent recipient of the William J. Kraemer Outstanding Sport Scientist Award by the National Strength and Conditioning Association. In the past year, Dr. Myer was recognized for the Hugh C. McLeod, III, M.D. Award of Excellence from the Arthritis Foundation and the Bart Mann Award for the Advancement of Sports Medicine Research from the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine. Dr. Myer is currently a Fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine and was the recipient of the Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions Outstanding Alumnus Award and Franklin College Distinguished Alumni Award as a doctoral- and undergraduate-degree recipient, respectively.

Dr. Myer is serving or has served as an investigator on several multi-million dollar federal and industry-sponsored grants in support of knee injury/concussion prevention and exercise training for performance, injury prevention, rehabilitation, and health research. From a standpoint of moving the field forward with injury prevention, rehabilitation, and sports performance science in the young athlete, Dr. Myer’s scientific impact is highlighted by his efforts to translate scientific discovery into innovative clinically viable tools that can be widely disseminated and benefit targeted populations. Along these lines, Dr. Myer and his team have invented aNMT (patented-augmented neuromuscular training; pronounced “animate”), a self-guided interactive biofeedback technology for improving rehabilitation and preventing injuries. aNMT biofeedback is created and driven from a user’s own real-time biomechanical (movement) data, which “animate” an interactive object that will support personalized telemedicine of the future. The biofeedback system was awarded the Innovations funding and Third Frontier Innovation Creative Opportunity funding and has been designated as a top medical innovation targeted for commercialization accelerator programs. In line with innovations that are focused on ‘making a difference,’ Dr. Myer has led investigations into strategies to best prevent brain injury in response to head impact exposure in sports. Specifically, he has led clinical trials that supported FDA clearance for an innovative medical device designed to prevent brain injury from sports-related head impact and avert these and other negative outcomes. Building upon these achievements, Dr. Myer is uniquely positioned to lead the state-of-the-art Emory Sports Performance And Research Center (SPARC) located at the Atlanta Falcons football headquarters that will serve as the nation’s leading center for research advancements and dissemination of injury prevention, rehabilitation and sports performance in young athletes.

Questions or interest in sponsoring this event?
Contact:  Ellen.Rhodes@cuanschutz.edu