Bethel Musculoskeletal Research Center

08/05/2025

Last week marked the culmination of our 9-week Summer Student Research Program (SSRP) with our annual Poster Presentation Day!

Throughout the summer, these undergraduate students were immersed in hands-on lab work, mentorship, and weekly seminars led by BMRC Core Scientists, all designed to build skills in research methods and scientific communication.

On presentation day, students showcased their hard work to a full audience of mentors, BMRC lab members, and special guests including the Bethel Family.

We’re incredibly proud of all the students and wish them continued success in the upcoming school year. And we’re excited to share that a few of them will be continuing their work right here in the BMRC labs!

07/23/2025

Great information here on shoulder replacements from BMRC Core Lab member Dr. Albert Lin of the Pittsburgh Shoulder Institute.

All shoulder replacements are not created equal and not everyone who needs one is older - check out this feature with our own Dr. Albert Lin talking about the different types of replacements and how they've become the fastest-growing replacement surgery in the country: https://www.post-gazette.com/sponsored?prx_t=afQJAShRyAQtcVA&ntv_acpl=1431362&ntv_acsc=0&ntv_avcsc=0&ntv_ot=6&ntv_plt=1431362_63814&ntv_ui=1e186302-b746-458a-8a5a-9f6ff15936b8&ntv_ht=laB3aAA

07/17/2025

We are incredibly pleased to have hosted Dr. Laurencin, the recipient of the 2025 Dickson Prize in Medicine, for a tour of our labs while he in Pittsburgh to receive his award. Congratulations, Sir Cato!

07/11/2025

We're celebrating another publication from BMRC core lab members this week, this time in The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery Our team studied GLP-1 drugs and their use as a promising tool for preoperative weight loss in patients undergoing orthopaedic surgery.

Check out the full paper here: https://journals.lww.com/jbjsjournal/fulltext/9900/glp_1_receptor_agonists_in_orthopaedic_surgery_.1505.aspx where our team explored potential impacts of GLP-1 RAs on orthopaedic practice.

opaedic surgeon, the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) recommends withholding daily-dose GLP-1 therapy on the day of the elective surgical procedure and withholding weekly-dose therapy for the week prior to the procedure.➢ The ASA recommends postponing surgery or proceeding with “full ...

07/07/2025

Happy to report that BMRC lab members, including our Executive Director Dr Joon Y. Lee, have been published in this months' North American Spine Society Journal for their study to evaluate risk factors for 30-day hospital readmission following elective decompressive spine surgery.

It was found that predictors of readmission included prior-year hospital admission, age-adjusted Charlson Comorbidity Index and post-op complications, among other predictors. The proposed scoring system used in the study demonstrated superior predictive performance compared to standard risk calculators.

Check out the full paper here, for free: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.xnsj.2025.100750

07/02/2025

🎶We can see clearly now the wall is gone...🎶

New windows going into our lab space this week! So exciting and will definitely make our future home a brighter and lighter space to work. Construction on the space is slated to be completed by this fall - we can't wait!

06/26/2025

Our SSRP summer course is flying by and we've got a fresh lecture for you today by BMRC Scientific Director Dr. Nam Vo on experimental design and the scientific method. Get your thinking caps on and check it out on our YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0cbft3UgrQ

The goal of this 9-week Summer Student Research Program is to provide undergraduate and medical students, from within and outside of The University of Pittsb...

06/23/2025

A bit of a sad day today as we wish goodbye to Rahul Ramanathan, MD and Christopher Gonzalez, BMRC Clinical Research Fellow. Thank you both for your contributions to our research and good luck on your next steps! We'll be cheering you on the entire time!

06/20/2025

Reno Update! Our new home at Pitt's BST is quickly coming together with brand new windows, walls and rooms. We love the smell of fresh drywall in the morning, don't you?

Happy Friday!

06/16/2025

Congratulations to our BMRC lab members who presented their work at this year's 21st annual UPMC Rehabilitation Institute Research Day! The event is co-sponsored by the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation School of Medicine, the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, and the UPMC Rehabilitation Institute.

Drs. Rahul Ramanathan and Prashanta Silwal received best RI Day poster awards for their work.

For more information see here: https://www.rehabmedicine.pitt.edu/news/save-date-21st-annual-upmc-rehabilitation-institute-research-day

06/16/2025

It's not all science and test tubes here at the BMRC - sometimes we take advantage of that rare "Pittsburgh sunshine" and play some volleyball. And yes - girls beat boys 21 - 10, even though they were outnumbered!

06/13/2025

Our 2025 SSRP program has entered it's second week, with Dr. Nam Vo, BMRC Scientific Director, speaking to our students this week on the scientific method.

Did you know recordings of our weekly SSRP classroom meetings can be found on our YouTube channel? Check out Dr. Pete Alexander's talk from last week on how to effectively summarize an academic paper in Journal Club: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SovkMSxpAqw