Category: News

Larry Bonassar’s research group was awarded two best poster awards at the 2025 Annual Meeting of the Orthopeadic Research Society Annual Meeting.

Best Poster award for the Preclinical Models section was awarded to Kristyna Hargitaiova , Melia Matthews , Salman Matan, Andrew Miller, Sarah Pownder, Lawrence Bonassar, and Michelle Delco for “A New Ovine Combined Cartilage Injury Model for Investigating Cartilage Repair”

Best Poster award for the Meniscus section was awarded to Carlos Urrea de la Puerta, Lara Estroff, and Lawrence Bonassar for “BMP-2 Induces Dose-Dependent Hypertrophy in Fibrochondrocytes for Meniscal Enthesis Tissue Engineering”

Larry Bonassar has been selected to receive the 2024 Marshall Urist Award from the Orthopaedic Research Society.

The Marshall Urist award honors an investigator in tissue regeneration research who has a sustained ongoing body of focused research in the area of tissue regeneration as it relates to the musculoskeletal system. Dr. Bonassar received the award at the February meeting of the ORS.

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Marjolein van der Meulen has been selected to receive the 2024 H.R. Lissner Medal by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME). The award recognizes outstanding achievements in the field of bioengineering in research, education and service to the bioengineering community.

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Professor Atieh Moridi has been awarded a 2024 Minerals, Metals and Materials Society (TMS) Early Career Faculty Fellow Award. The award recognizes “an assistant professor for his or her accomplishments that have advanced the academic institution where employed, and for abilities to broaden the technological profile of TMS.” Awardees are evaluated based on their personal achievements and ability to broaden the existing technological profile of the society, among other qualifications.

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Developing a new generation of biosynthetic lubricants

CAMEO members Dr. Lawence J. Bonassar, Daljit S. and Elaine Sarkaria Professor in the Meinig School of Biomedical Engineering and the Sibley School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, David Putnam, Professor in the Meinig School of Biomedical Engineering and Smith School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and Dr. Heidi Reesink, associate professor in the Department of Clinical Sciences at the College of Veterinary Medicine at Cornell University are part of an interdisciplinary team that has been awarded a grant for $2 million under the National Science Foundation’s Leading Engineering for America’s Prosperity, Health and Infrastructure program (LEAP HI). The goal of the award is to develop a new generation of biosynthetic lubricants that have the potential to treat arthritis and reduce the painful friction of artificial joints.

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Cornell Biomedical Engineering Master of Engineering students engage in yearlong design projects with an emphasis on the identification or validation of unmet clinical needs, this year several of these projects were with done in collaboration with surgeons and researchers at the Hospital for Special Surgery and were featured at the 7th annual Cornell BME MEng industry engagement day and project showcase. The showcase allowed students to present their work and engage with faculty, alumni and professionals.

Dr. Lawence J. Bonassar, the Daljit S. and Elaine Sarkaria Professor in the Meinig School of Biomedical Engineering and the Sibley School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Cornell University, has been announced as the recipient of the Orthopaedic Research Society 2023 Outstanding Achievement in Mentoring Award.

Nelly Andarawis-Puri (PI), Scott Rodeo (Co-I), Cindy Leifer (Co-I), Nozomi Nishimura (Co-I); Iwijn De Vlaminck (Co-I) have been awarded a $75,000 Cornell Engineering Sprout Award to study tendon injuries. Cornell Engineering Sprout Awards provide seed funding to support teams of investigators pursuing novel research at the intersection of multiple fields with a goal of being able to submit the work to outside funding agencies.

The proposed studies are to determine the damage component that is lacking in sub-rupture injuries to mount the necessary inflammatory response by using precise laser ablation to differentiate between the effect of matrix micro-rupture and cellular necrosis. They also utilize cell-free RNA profiling of different tendon injuries in their mouse injury model and in human samples to make a leap towards managing each injury based on its environment. This first aspect alone is highly impactful because of the potential clinical translation of precisely employed laser ablation to promote healing of overuse tendon injuries. In addition, the search for biomarkers that are indicative of onset of tendon injuries has been an unattainable target. The investigative team is uniquely positioned to identify circulating cell-free RNA signatures of different tendon injuries, and test the findings in human subjects, thereby pioneering a non-invasive mechanism to diagnose onset of tendon injuries to tailor treatment.

Congratulations to Sean Kim, PhD candidate in the Bonassar Lab, for winning an Orthopaedic Research Society Spine Section Innovation Award for his work on finite element modeling of bioresorbable cages for tissue engineered intervertebral discs at the Orthopaedic Research Society (ORS) and Philadelphia Spine Research Society (PSRS) 6th International Spine Research Symposium.

What began as a small biomechanics program between Cornell Engineering and Hospital for Special Surgery has blossomed into a full-fledged center that continues to make major advances in orthopaedic care. Read more…