Mission Statement

The mission of the IEM Center for Musculoskeletal Research (CMSR) is to synergize the expertise in musculoskeletal research within the San Diego community and to translate it into improved treatment of musculoskeletal diseases. The CMSR will bring together scientists, engineers, and clinicians in the UCSD Jacobs School of Engineering, UCSD Health Sciences, neighboring research institutes and industry to elucidate mechanisms of pathogenesis of musculoskeletal disease, create innovative technology for cutting-edge musculoskeletal research, and develop novel strategies to improve diagnosis, treatment and prevention of musculoskeletal diseases. The CMSR has an excellent cross-Departmental structure, with members from UCSD Departments of Bioengineering, Medicine, Orthopaedic Surgery, Radiology, and Surgery, as well as neighboring institutions; these members have a track record of strong interdisciplinary collaboration in musculoskeletal science, engineering and diseases. This Center harnesses the multitude of strengths that exist on La Jolla Mesa and provides a synergistic and entrepreneurial environment for creating new knowledge and solving challenging problems.

Figure 1: A laser optical instrument (left) that creates a diffraction pattern from a skeletal muscle (middle) is used to derive the striation pattern of the muscle (right). This method is used to define optimal reattachment lengths for muscle in hand surgery.