# Core-002: Biomechanics Core

> **NIH NIH P30** · UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA · 2020 · $231,490

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract for Biomechanics Core 
While musculoskeletal tissues have multiple biological roles, their primary function is to provide mechanical 
load support and motion to the body to enable the activities of daily living. These load and deformation 
requirements vary with tissue type and location, but include significant mechanical complexity such as high 
stiffness and strength, anisotropy, nonlinearity, and viscoelasticity. With injury, aging, degeneration, or disease, 
musculoskeletal tissues may experience a decline in mechanical function, and this loss of function can 
originate at different length scales. With development, growth, and therapeutic treatment, the mechanical 
function can improve and change across these same length scales. In short, it is essential that assessment of 
musculoskeletal tissue mechanics be a primary focus in both basic and translational studies of musculoskeletal 
tissue formation, development, degeneration, and treatment. Moreover, the innovation and sophistication of 
biomechanical quantification must continue at a pace on par with the ever-deepening knowledge of 
musculoskeletal tissue molecular biology, with advances in molecular and imaging technologies, and with new 
therapeutic developments in order to discern the functional outcomes in these studies. In particular, 
biomechanical testing must provide information across length scales to inform our understanding of 
degeneration and regeneration processes. Therefore, the overall objective of the Biomechanics Core is to 
develop and provide a wide range of innovative biomechanical approaches to evaluate musculoskeletal tissue 
function in the context of damage, repair, and regeneration, and to provide training and funding for new 
projects and collaborations utilizing these assays. Over the last decade, our Biomechanics Core at the Penn 
Center for Musculoskeletal Disorders (PCMD) has grown into a thriving resource for the University of 
Pennsylvania and Philadelphia area musculoskeletal research community. In this submission, we will further 
expand our services to meet the increased demand for specialized techniques and develop new and innovative 
methods that address the multi-scale mechanics of musculoskeletal tissues. These developments will provide 
customized services that enhance the research productivity of our members. The Specific Aims of the 
Biomechanics Core are: 1) To provide guidance and training on the capabilities, advantages, and 
disadvantages of the various methodologies to assess musculoskeletal tissue biomechanical function through 
formal educational enrichment programs and one-on-one interactions, 2) To provide expertise and service for 
biomechanical assays of musculoskeletal tissues, 3) To develop innovative biomechanical testing techniques 
that will be applicable to musculoskeletal research, and in particular those that provide information across 
tissue length scales, and 4) To provide funding for the development ...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9968022
- **Project number:** 5P30AR069619-05
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA
- **Principal Investigator:** Robert L Mauck
- **Activity code:** P30 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $231,490
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** — → 2021-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9968022

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9968022, Core-002: Biomechanics Core (5P30AR069619-05). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9968022. Licensed CC0.

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