Rosa Visscher
ETH Zurich and University Children’s Hospital Basel, Switzerland.
After 17+ hours in planes and 3 hours in a bus I finally arrived in Canmore, Alberta, Canada, which hosted the 17th international symposium on computer simulation in biomechanics 2019 (TGCS). From the moment I received the email from the ISB Student Awards Office announcing my application for the ISB Student Technical Group Travel Grant was successful, I felt the need to dance anywhere I went. So getting off the bus in Canmore, the first thing I did was a small “I cannot believe I really made it here”-dance.
Since one and a half years, I have been working on developing tools for assisting clinicians in making treatment decisions. Coming from a more clinical background, I invested the first year of my PhD into getting to know the field of computer simulations in biomechanics. By attending TGCS, I got the opportunity to meet the people I had been reading so many papers from.
The first day offered some hand-on experience workshops, allowing people like me with only little background in the field to ease into the symposium. Everyone was so approachable and supportive that within the first day I felt more than comfortable asking all those questions I never dared to ask before. By attending this 3-day symposium, I was able to improve my in-depth understanding of the possibilities and limitations of musculoskeletal simulations more than in the weeks of reading before.
It was inspiring to see how many others in the world are working towards the same goals. Seeing all the different possible approaches and being able to share experiences was priceless. I hope to be able to further develop the relations that started at this symposium, as academic collaborations as well as personal friendships. Thank you ISB for providing me the means to have made this experience possible!
Deepak Kumar Ravi
ETH Zürich, Switzerland
In 2017, during my first year of PhD studies, I attended my first-ever international biomechanics conference, ISB Congress, in Brisbane, Australia. It was an intimidating experience but the conference unlocked for me, a very vibrant and welcoming research community interested in the broad discipline of biomechanics research. Attending the subsequent congress this year in Calgary was even more rewarding - catching up with academic partners, absorbing new directions in the field and after conference wilderness experiences.
The community has grown by breadth (e.g. comparative biomechanics) and depth (e.g. read world biomechanics data using wearables) in the discipline of biomechanics. The science from the attendees was once again cutting edge, only made me sprint between sessions, posters and overflow rooms to complete my daily itinerary. On the third day, I presented a poster titled “Do rhythmic auditory stimuli enhance recovery against sudden perturbations? A novel approach to quantify resilience during walking.” My poster outlined our ongoing collaborative (ETH Zurich and University of Nebraska Omaha) study investigating the link between resilience, fractality of walking and fall risk. During and after the session, I had the chance to interact with many researchers to find collaborative opportunities to work together on the project.
I would also take this chance to add to the chorus of conference guides, Twitter (my handle is @Deepak_K_Ravi) is an amazing tool for outreach and it has greatly enhanced my conference experience. Most of my ice-breaker moments with the conference attendees started with the sentence “I know you from Twitter, nice to meet you in person.” Aside from the research agenda, the conference organizers arranged us a student hike to the Banff National Park, a night out at the Ranchman's and a couple of meetups to celebrate the success of National Biomechanics Day 2019. I would also like to appreciate the people behind organizing the variety of round tables and mentor lunch sessions during the conference.
Overall the congress provided me great opportunities for collaboration and establishing academic relationships that I expect, will carry on for quite a long time. As an Engineer, science communication in a biomechanics forum filled with clinicians, physical therapists and movement scientists have been an emotionally overwhelming but enriching experience over the last three years. I would like to appreciate the Congress Travel Grant of the ISB that supported me in experiencing this once again.
Kristen Jakubowski
Northwestern University, United States of America
I was a recipient of the congress travel grant to help cover the expenses related to travel to this year’s XXVI ISB/ASB congress in Calgary. This was my first ISB conference and my first time traveling outside of the United States for a conference. Thanks to receiving this travel grant, I was able to also attend the Rocky Mountain Muscle Symposium in Canmore.
The ability to go to both conferences was invaluable. The RMMs was an intimate environment allowing for a multitude of discussions as a large group, but also multiple small group or one-on-one discussions. Covering muscle from the molecular mechanisms all the way to up to creating limb movement challenged me to think about muscle on different scales compared to what I normally study. Being in Canmore, I was also able to enjoy the magnificent Canadian Rockies. After being at RMMs, at first the crowds at IBS/ASB seemed daunting. Once settling in, I was able to take advantage of the diverse programing on offer. The breadth of biomechanics covered by the programming allowed me to not only experience science directly related to my work, but also allowed me to venture out of my discipline. This not only broadened my knowledge of biomechanics, but also allowed me to think about my research from a new, different perspective. During my poster session, I had the opportunity to present preliminary work from my laboratory on the relationship between muscle and tendon kinematics and ankle joint mechanics. This led to multiple discussions that brought new insights into our findings and new questions for future exploration.
In addition to the scientific programing, there were multiple events targeted at personal and professional growth. The coffee breaks, long lunches, and evenings provided opportunities for networking making new connections. During the student mentorship lunch, I was able to get answers to questions I had not only related to science and research but also related to achieving my ultimate career goals. Student night out allowed me to connect with fellow students, whom I am sure I will continue to see at conferences around the world. The Women in Science event provided an environment where we could explore strategies for overcoming biases we may face throughout our careers, inviting open, candid conversations with the goal of making science and biomechanics more inclusive for everyone.
The opportunity to attend this year’s ISB/ASB conference was a great experience and I hope I have the opportunity to participate in ISB 2021. Thank you to the committee and the International Society of Biomechanics for their support.
Janet H. ZHANG
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong
In the last of year of my PhD, I feel very honored to be selected as one of the recipients of the ISB Congress Travel Grant. With support from this grant, I attended ISB conference for the first time. Moreover, I have got this chance to present part of my PhD study and share the findings with researchers from all over the world.
I was impressed with the social events organized by the committees. During this ISB conference, I have joined student hiking as well as the student night out. The student hiking was definitely one of the highlights of the trip to Calgary. On the first day of our arrival, me and my supervisor, together with another lab mate from our team joined the hiking together. Even though everyone of us were still trying hard to adjust the 13-hour time zone difference between Hong Kong and Canada, the view of Grassi Lakes trail definitely made it easier for us to adjust the time zone. I took hundreds of pictures during the hiking for me to bring back to Hong Kong, and I made new friends during this refreshing event as well.
I presented the findings of part of my PhD study in one of the poster sessions. While completing my PhD, my research focused on translation of learning effect into different running conditions after completion of an established gait retraining protocol. The study I presented in ISB 2019 is a further extension of my PhD study, which aims to identify potential strategies adopted by runners after training. I feel very honored that this small-scale study could be selected for poster presentation so that I got the chance to discuss the findings and potential future research questions with a lot of researchers. The poster presentation session lasted for 1 hour, but the discussion went far beyond. We exchanged name cards as well as interesting research ideas with each other during the conference. I feel encouraged knowing that my research work is interesting and could actually provide insights to other people who are also working into this area.
I really appreciate the generous support from ISB for me to have this fruitful trip. I am inspired by all the people I met during the trip and hope that one day, I could also be the inspiration to future scientists. I am definitely looking forward to the next ISB Congress!
Zoe Y.S. CHAN
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong
I am honored to be selected as one of the recipients of the ISB Congress Travel Grant. This travel grant has supported 
my conference trip to this year’s ISB/ASB Congress in Calgary, Canada. This is my second time presenting at the ISB Congress, and the first time in Canada. I have had some wonderful experience, fun night-outs and most importantly, insightful chats with experts in the field of biomechanics.
In 2017, I went to the ISB Congress in Brisbane alone, and being introverted, I did not participate in many of the social events. This year, my supervisor, his other PhD student (a.k.a. my partner-in-research) and I joined the welcoming reception and banquet together. We were introduced to my supervisor’s advisors, collaborators and researchers whom my partner and I referred to as “the group/person we cited in our study”. It has been a true pleasure to finally be able to meet these experts in person, understanding the philosophy behind their work and their experience as a researcher. I have also enjoyed the student hike in Kananaskis and the night-out with the National Biomechanics Day (NBD) group. It was fun to explore the beauty of nature or enjoying a drink while connecting with fellow graduate students. It has made me realize that I am not alone in having uncertainties while stepping towards my goals.
I presented the findings of my first study as a PhD candidate in one of the poster sessions. My study focused on the transfer of learning effect to over-ground running after treadmill-based gait retraining. Sharing my work with other researchers allowed me to understand my research in a different way and has inspired on future directions. I have been working on similar topics for over 3 years and working within the same group has sometimes made it hard to recognize alternatives in finding answers to a research question. I used to be rather defensive when reviewers raised questions or challenged my study but discussing my research study with others during the poster session felt more friendly. The discussions were interactive and helpful. This experience has reminded me of the importance of being open-minded as a scientist and has helped me in preparing myself for further presentations. Engaging in conversations with other presenters has also made me appreciate the work of other labs and broaden my perspective on biomechanics.
All in all, this fruitful trip would not have been possible without the generous support from the ISB. I am inspired by all the people I met during the trip and hope that one day, I could also be the inspiration to future scientists. I am definitely looking forward to the next ISB Congress!
Yu-An Chang
National Taiwan Normal University, Taiwan
I would like to thank the ISB for awarding me the congress travel grant award to the XXVII ISB/ASB Congress in Calgary, Canada. This was my first time to attend the international conference. As a first-year graduate student, the ISB meeting was an eye- opening experience for me.
There were so many inspiring keynote lectures. Dr. Herr’s speech was one of the inspirational talks. Both of Herr’s legs had been amputated below the knees. He didn’t want to give up his love – climbing, so he created prosthetic feet for himself. As a result of using the prostheses, Dr. Herr climbed at a more advanced level than he had before the accident, making him the first person with a major amputation to perform in a sport. He dedicated to advancing leg prostheses and helping those who also had undergone limb amputation to get back on their feet.
The most harvested part of the meeting was the oral session, as a graduate student who had just entered the research field, those great presentations and discussions were important to me. I learned what equipment they used in their experiment, how they design their experiment, and how to reduce bias and minimize error. And after listening to lots of oral presentations, some new idea did come up to my mind, for instance, combined AR with cutting tasks to create a more unexpected situation.
For the first time, I was pleased and also nervous to have a poster presentation. The poster presentation session was an excellent experience for me, not only my presentation skills were improved, but I also received some constructive feedback.
Once again, I would like to thank the committee for awarding me the travel grant; I’ve learned so many things and met a lot of incredible researcher in this field. Finally, I would like to thank my supervisor Prof. Chenfu Huang and my colleagues at Biomechanics Lab, NTNU, for giving me a lot of help in my learning process.
Daniel J. Glassbrook
Macquarie University, Australia
I was very fortunate to receive the Congress Travel Grant and to attend ISB/ASB 2019, in Calgary, Canada earlier this year. I have attended several international conferences in the past, but none of the magnitude of ISB/ASB 2019. Attending the conference was a valuable experience, and I gained a lot during my time in Canada. The scientific program was well constructed, and I found a large number of presentations in my area of wearable technology to attend. From these I took away several interesting points applicable to my own research, and was glad to meet other researchers pursuing similar questions.
The conference started superbly with the student excursion and a hike through the scenic Kananaskis. I though this was a
fantastic idea for a student event, and it really opened my eyes to the beauty in which Canada is known for. Later in the conference I also really enjoyed the student night out, and particularly the line dancing portion of the evening.
Within the conference I had the pleasure of presenting some of my PhD research via poster. This paper focused on the use of wearable technology (IMUs), developing a method to quantify external mechanical load at the lower limb, and identifying potential differences across playing positions, during professional rugby league match-play. I was thankful for the conversations that my poster prompted, and I received some valuable feedback on my research. It was funny however, how often I had to first explain what rugby league was before I could get to the science of poster. Considering rugby league is not a prominent sport in Canada, or America, I found it extremely valuable practice to explain my research efficiently and effectively to an audience who largely didn’t know anything about the sport.
Altogether, the conference was a superb time of learning, connecting, and exposure to the larger world of biomechanics. I look forward to attending future ISB conferences, maintaining current and creating new relationships with others in the biomechanics field.
Jodie Willis
Macquarie University, Australia
I would like to thank the ISB council members for awarding me the Congress Travel Grant to attend ISB/ASB 2019. It was a
fantastic, fun and extremely valuable experience which I am very grateful to have been a part of.
On the first day of conference we were introduced to Canada’s iconic scenery through the student excursion where we hike a trail in Kananaskis, Banff National Park. The day was completed by the opening ceremony, and although this wasn’t my first international conference it was only when I saw the near 2000 delegates in the same room afterwards, I realise just how big this conference was going to be!
I was lucky to be involved with other events throughout this conference. Attending the advancing women in biomechanics event was a great opportunity to discuss and reflect on current issues, and to learn how together we can work make a positive impact together. Thanks to all who organised and participated – it’s a positive step forward in this space!
A key highlight of ISB/ASB 2019 was presenting both a poster and an oral presentation on my PhD research investigating sex-specific biomechanical and neuromuscular adaptations physical training programs for Military load-carriage. Presenting this work gave me a valuable opportunity to personally meet and discuss my research with leading researchers in the biomechanics field. I feel like I built many invaluable personal and professional networks throughout the conference.
The exposure to such amazing research being conducted has reconfirm my passion and dedication in the field of biomechanics. I would like to again thank ISB for this award to enable my attendance to ISB/ASB 2019 to present my PhD research!!
