The Philadelphia Spine Research Society (PSRS) has been conducting annual research meetings since 2004 and
2024 will be the 7th international meeting of the Society in collaboration with the Orthopaedic Research Society
(ORS). This proposal seeks support to promote and enhance attendance by trainees and junior faculty as well as
trainees from Underrepresented minorities (URM) at the 2024 ORS PSRS 7th International Spine Research
Symposium. The Symposium will take place on November 10-14, 2024 at Skytop Lodge, Skytop, PA which is a
convenient location for both the greater Philadelphia and New York regions. The primary purpose of this
conference is to promote state-of-the-art research and to enhance scientific discourse and collaborations in the
broad field of intervertebral disc biology. Previous ORS-PSRS conferences have had an excellent track record of
bringing together researchers and clinicians from broad disciplines at various career stages. The key features of
the symposium include, state-of-the-art invited lectures, peer-reviewed presentations, panel discussions, and
trainee and student presentations. Hallmark features of this conference are its relaxed and informal atmosphere
and purposefully unscheduled time to permit interactions and exchange of ideas among participants. The main
theme of the meeting is “Building Bridges” and topics to be highlighted will include molecular, cell, and
developmental biology of the disc, mechanisms of pathogenesis of disc degeneration, the molecular basis of
discogenic pain, biomechanics of the spine, tissue engineering, device design, rehabilitation and technologies
such as AI and virtual reality. The organizers expect participation from basic researchers as well as clinicians
concerned with the diagnosis and treatment of spinal disorders including disc degeneration and back pain.