News

Irwin Lab at the 2026 Medical Scientist Research Symposium

Friday, April 3, 2026

The Irwin Lab was well-represented this year at the Medical Scientist Research Symposium (MSRS), held right here at the University of Rochester Medical Center. It was a privilege to share our work with our home institution’s physician-scientist community and engage with the next generation of medical researchers.

Two of our lab members highlighted our recent progress in spinal research:

• David Xiang delivered a podium presentation titled “Development of a Surgical Platform for Intravital Multiphoton Imaging of the Murine Intervertebral Disc,” describing the engineering and design of our new surgical platform for studying murine intervertebral disc health and extracellular matrix remodeling.
• Cindy Wu presented a poster titled “Histopathological analysis of lumbar intervertebral disc degeneration in a murine model of accelerated ovarian failure” detailing our lab’s latest findings in tissue histology of the lumbar intervertebral disc in a mouse model of perimenopause.

Both presentations sparked excellent discussions regarding the translation of basic science research to clinical orthopedic challenges.

We would like to extend a sincere thank you to the Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP) organizers for inviting us to participate and for hosting such an impactful event. A huge congratulations to David and Cindy for their hard work and successful presentations!

Written with the help of Gemini 3 Flash

Professor Rebecca Irwin Presents at the Orthopedic Research Society (ORS) Annual Meeting

Monday, March 30, 2026

The Irwin Lab was proud to present our latest work at this year’s Orthopedic Research Society (ORS) conference. Dr. Irwin took to the podium, giving a talk titled “Accelerated ovarian failure model of menopause increases low back pain associated behavior in mice.”
The presentation focused on characterizing pain behavior and musculoskeletal tissue health in a mouse model of perimenopause with the goal of using this pre-clinical model to develop therapeutic interventions. Following the talk, Dr. Irwin engaged with the community of international experts in the audience, discussing pain measurements and behavioral test metrics.

Attending ORS is a vital opportunity to share our data, hear about the fascinating work of our colleagues in the field and exchange ideas with global collaborators.

Congratulations to Dr. Irwin on a successful and exciting presentation!

Written with the help of Gemini 3 Flash

Outreach at East High School

Monday, March 23, 2026

Last week, the Irwin Lab stepped out of the research lab and into the classroom for an outreach event at East High School. We spent the day introducing students to the field of orthopedic mechanobiology, focusing on the complex mechanics of the human spine.

The visit featured three interactive segments:

• Expert Q&A: Dr. Irwin gave a brief presentation on spinal health and biomechanics, an engaging session where students asked questions about injury, recovery, the future of orthopedic medicine, and what a day in the life of an engineer scientist looks like.
• The "Oobleck" IVD Demo: To visualize intervertebral disc (IVD) mechanics, we used pool noodles and oobleck compressed by wood blocks to simulate loading behavior on the spinal discs. This hands-on activity demonstrated how the spine transitions between flexibility and stability under different rates of loading and how injuries like herniations happen.
• Microscopy Station: Students examined mouse spine sections under the lens. For many, this was their first time using a microscope and being exposed to histology, offering a high-resolution and colorful look at the microscopic architecture of the musculoskeletal system.

Sharing our work with the East High community was a fantastic experience. We were inspired by the students' curiosity and hope to see some of them in the lab as future collaborators and scientists.

Thank you, East High, for a great day of discovery!

Written with the help of Gemini 3 Flash