The Michigan Integrative Musculoskeletal Health Core Center (MiMHC) is supported by a P30 grant from NIH/NIAMS. This award is a great honor and reflects the hard work and dedication of all musculoskeletal (MSK) researchers at U of M. This award was first granted in 2016 and was recently renewed for another funding cycle. There are over 100 faculty members of the MiMHC. These investigators plus their research teams together make Michigan a highly productive and collaborative environment to conduct MSK research!

The theme of the MiMHC is understanding mechanisms of musculoskeletal health, injury, and disease across the lifespan.

The goal of this center is to strengthen existing and develop new musculoskeletal programs by providing the following support:

• • access to specialized equipment and technical expertise

  • scientific advice on experimental design and data acquisition, analysis and interpretation

  • opportunities to expand and engage the MSK community in collaborative research

  • mentorship of Trainees and Junior Faculty

  • promotion of greater interactions among basic scientists and clinicians

  • promotion of research focusing on interactions across MSK tissues, across time, and between sexes

The Resource Cores centralize specialized technologies and expertise across all physiological length scales, enabling center investigators to conduct “vertically” oriented science from molecular mechanisms to organ- and organismal-level function. The MiMHC supports three Resource Cores:

• • Structure, Composition & Histology Core – micro/nanoComputed Tomography, Raman spectroscopy, plastic and paraffin embedding, access to specialized equipment for sectioning and staining

  • Function  Core – physiological testing, microsurgery support, muscle mechanics, tendon testing, bone testing, custom fabrication/machining

  • Integrative Data Analytics Core – imaging data analysis, Omics data analysis, statistical assessment of biological and biomedical data and integrative machine learning

The Enrichment Program will promote and sustain new interactions among center investigators, enabling the interdisciplinary team to conduct “horizontally” oriented science to identify mechanisms of injury and disease arising as a result of interactions between musculoskeletal tissues or with other physiological systems. The Enrichment Program focuses on community building, junior faculty mentorship, and grantsmanship.

• The Enrichment Program offers Pilot Grant opportunities aimed at promoting greater interactions among clinicians and basic scientists and supporting research projects studying interactions across musculoskeletal tissues, across time, and between sexes. Submission of P&F Grant applications for 2025 is now open. Submit completed applications to Sarah Boston (sjayers@med.umich.edu) by October 18, 2024. Please see the Enrichment Program Pilot Grant Program page for more information on the Pilot grants.

• The 2023/2024 monthly MSK seminar series for the Fall/Winter semester is held on the 3rd Wednesday each month from 4-5pm.  Please note, seminars are in-person but we will continue to allow attending the seminars as virtual sessions. Please see the Musculoskeletal Research Progress page for more information on upcoming presentations and the Zoom link.

• The Ninth Annual Musculoskeletal Health Symposium, to be held May 30, 2025, will feature a poster session highlighting research by junior faculty, trainees, and staff. The Keynote Speaker is Alayna E. Loiselle, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Orthopaedics, University of Rochester Medical Center. Please check here for more information on the submitting your abstract (submission deadline is March 28, 2025 at 5pm) and the meeting.

For more information on MiMHC, the services from the various cores and prices, please download and read the MiMHC Core Services Handbook.

Once again, thanks to the entire UM MSK community for another productive year.  Stay safe and stay healthy!