Muscle-tendon mechanics across species
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Bodomintie 37
Espoo 02740
Finland
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Call for papers
Abstract submission
We invite short abstracts from those who wish to present their work at the symposium. The submission deadline is 14.2.2025.
Abstracts must be written in English. The abstracts are restricted to 350 words including main text and possible references. It may not contain any tables or figures and is restricted to ASCII-characters only. References (optional) in the text should be kept to a minimum and must be cited at the end of the abstract. In the submission form, the title and and information about presenting author and co-author(s) are requested.
The text of the abstract should include (without subheadings):
- Background / aim of the study
- A brief description of the methods used
- A summary of the main results
- A discussion / conclusion
The author may state a preference for the type of presentation (4-minute elevator pitch, 8-minute oral presentation or e-poster). However, the Organizing Committee will make the final decision about the presentation format, as there are limited time slots in the programme.
To submit an abstract and/or to register your interest in attending the symposium, please click the following link:
Programme
Talk lengths: Keynotes - 35+10min for questions; Invited speakers - 15+5min; Oral presentations - 8+2min; Pitch talks - 4 min
Thursday 24 July 2025
8.30 - 9.15 Keynote (Prof. Abigail Mackey, University of Copenhagen, Denmark)
9.15 - 9.30 Questions/Break
9.30 - 11.30 Session 1: Muscle-tendon Properties and Mechanisms
9:30-9:50 Prof. Peter Magnusson (University of Copenhagen, Denmark; INVITED): Muscle and tendon interplay after an Achilles tendon rupture
9:50-10:00 Dr. Jente Willaert (KU Leuven, Belgium): Increased muscle-tendon force and muscle spindle firing after immobilization in rats
10:00-10:20 Dr. Cameron Taylor (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and NC State, USA, INVITED): Fascicle or Fiction? The Importance of Properly Placing Muscle Tissue Length Markers
10:20-10:30 Dr. Jun Umehara (Kansai Medical University, Japan): Skeletal muscle shape influences joint torque exertion through the mechanical advantages
10:30-10:50 Dr. Bart Bolsterlee (NeuRA, Australia, INVITED): Lower leg muscle-tendon morphology during childhood development
10:50-11:00 PhD student Jarod Forer (University of Oregon, USA): Lymphatic Function is Disrupted after Achilles Tendon Injury in a Preclinical Rat Model
11:00-11:20 Dr. Janneke Schwaner (KU Leuven, Belgium, INVITED): A bipedal musculoskeletal model of the guinea fowl (Numida meleagris) to understand agile locomotion
11:20-11:30 Dr. Ridhi Sahani (Northwestern University, USA): Characterizing in vivo passive and active properties in cat soleus muscle
11.30 - 12.50 Lunch
12.50 - 14.00 Session 2: Comparative Biomechanics 1: From small to big: Comparative Biomechanics across scales
12:50-13:00 Dr. Luca Ruggiero (University of Konstanz, Germany): Latch-mediated actuation in locusts preserves jumping performance across 5 orders of isometric scaling, at the expense of take-off time
13:00-13:10 Dr. Roger Kissane (University of Liverpool, UK): The dynamic control of feeding in rabbits
13:10-13:30 Dr. Chris Basu (The University of Surrey, UK, INVITED): Do giraffes' long limbs help or hinder their ability to walk and run?
13:30-13:40 PhD student Yuting Lin (Royal Veterinary College, UK): Scaling effects on avian sit-to-stand mechanics revealed by predictive muscle-driven simulations
13:40-13:50 PhD student Ethan Wold (Georgia Institute of Technology, USA): Scaling of muscle-driven resonant mechanics across insects
14.00 - 14.30 Coffee break
14.30 - 16.30 Session 3: Computational Modelling and Neuromuscular Function
14:30-14:50 Prof. Massimo Sartori (University of Twente, The Netherlands, INVITED): TITLE TBC
14:50-15:00 PhD student Edwin Reuvers (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Netherlands): How Do Imposed Movement Parameters Affect Average Muscle Power Output?
15:00-15:20 Dr. Stephanie Ross (University of Calgary, INVITED): From simulation to reality: Advances and remaining gaps in predicting in vivo muscle forces using computational models
15:20-15:30 Dr. Chris Richards (Royal Veterinary College, UK): A general framework for analysing joint-level force-velocity properties
15:30-15:50 Prof. Lena Ting (Emory University and Georgia Tech, INVITED): Multiscale muscle mechanics govern fast and slow feedback for perturbation rejection
15:50-16:00 Dr. Hansol Ryu (Georgia Tech / Emory / KU Leuven, USA/Belgium): Cross-Bridge vs. Hill-Type Muscle Models: Transient Force Responses Contribute to Muscle and Joint-Level Postural Control
16:00-16:20 PhD student Pasha van Bijlert (Utrecht University/ Naturalis Biodiversity Center, Netherlands, INVITED): Isolating individual contributions of avian musculoskeletal structures to walking and running performance using physics simulations
16:20-16:30 Dr. Taylor Dick (University of Queensland, Australia): Unraveling the biomechanical and energetic impacts of aging on walking performance using predictive simulations
16.30 - 18.15 Outdoor activities / free time
18.15 - 19.00 Session 4: Elevator Pitch Competition & drinks (4 min per talk / max. 1 slide)
Speakers:
MSc student Minseung Kim (KAIST, South Korea): Frequency-Dependent Behavior of Numerical Muscle Models
PhD student Brooke Christensen (University of California, Irvine, USA): Preflex-mediated energy regulation stabilizes locomotion on soft ground
Dr. Surabhi Simha (Emory & Georgia Tech, USA): A computational model to predict muscle spindle firing during passive and active rhythmic movements
Dr. James Charles (University of Liverpool, UK): The impact of tendon stiffness on mouse muscle mechanics: towards a preclinical computational model of neuromuscular disease
Dr. Katsuki Takahashi (Doshisha University, Japan): Can we capture "contracting" muscle fascicles with diffusion tensor imaging?
Dr. Tiina Murtola (Royal Veterinary College, UK): Are two motor units better than one?
Dr. Katherine Knaus (Colorado School of Mines, USA): Aponeurosis effects on Soleus Force-Length with decreasing Activation
19.00 Dinner
Friday 25 July 2025
8.30 - 9.15 Keynote (Ass. Prof. Nicolai Konow, UMass Lowell, USA)
9.15 - 9.30 Questions/Break
9.30 - 11.30 Session 5: Muscle-tendon Dynamic Function and Motor Control
9:30-9:50 Prof. Emma Hodson-Tole (Manchester Metropolitan University, UK, INVITED): TITLE TBC
9:50-10:00 PhD student Laura Lecompte (KU Leuven, Belgium): Achilles tendinopathy patients show altered intra-tendinous sliding and muscle-force sharing during dynamic calf raise variations in different horizontal foot positions
10:00-10:20 Prof. Kirsten Albracht (Aachen University of Applied Sciences, Germany, INVITED): Muscle–Tendon Dynamic Behavior: Insights from Elite Sports, Rehabilitation, and Space Flight Analogs
10:20-10:30 Dr. Francesco Luciano (University of Milan, Italy): Why on Earth don’t humans gallop?
10:30-10:50 Prof. Francois Hug (Université Côte d'Azur, France, INVITED): Unraveling Movement Control at the Motor Neuron Level
10:50-11:00 Prof. Monica Daley (University of California, Irvine, USA): Characterizing variation in muscle force-length dynamics during in vivo non-steady locomotion
11:00-11:20 Prof. Benedicte Vanwanseele (KU Leuven, Belgium, INVITED): Muscle and tendon alteration influence tendon strains during rehabilitation exercise in patients with Achilles tendinopathy
11:20-11:30 Dr. Caitlin Bemis (University of California, Irvine, USA): The Missing Link: Unlocking Muscle-Tendon Dynamics from Fascicles and Whole-Body Motion
11.30 - 12.30 Lunch
12.30 - 14.30 Session 6: Free Oral Presentations
12:30-12:40 PhD student Ryan Konno (University of Queensland, Australia): An experimental and modelling framework to capture neuromuscular dynamics and energetics in vivo
12:40-12:50 Dr. Tim van der Zee (KU Leuven, Belgium): Biophysical muscle models for musculoskeletal simulation of locomotion
12:50-13:00 Dr. Juha-Pekka Kulmala (Helsinki University Hospital & University of Helsinki, Finland): Same but different: a comparison of antigravity muscle moment outputs when measured by isokinetic dynamometer versus inverse dynamics
13:00-13:10 PhD student Paul Ritsche (University of Basel, Switzerland): UMUD: A Web Application for Easy Access to Musculoskeletal Ultrasonography Datasets
13:10-13:30 Break
13:30-13:40 Dr. Adam Kositsky (University of Eastern Finland): The curious case of the semitendinosus muscle
13:40-13:50 Dr. Luke Jessup (University of California, Irvine, USA): Dissecting the metabolic costs of up- and down-hill walking
13:50-14:00 Dr. Huub Maas (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Netherlands): Equal changes in muscle belly length caused by either ankle or knee rotation yield different changes in fiber mean sarcomere length
14.00 - 14.30 Coffee break
14.30-16.00 Session 7: Comparative Biomechanics 2: The 3 Bs: Biomimetics & Bioinspired-design in Comparative Biomechanics
14:30-14:50 Dr. Christofer Clemente (University of the Sunshine Coast, Australia, INVITED): Using predictive musculoskeletal simulations to explore the effect of altered gravity on locomotor performance
14:50-15:10 Prof. Jan-Henning Dirks (Hochschule Bremen- City University of Applied Sciences, Germany, INVITED): From Arthropods to Echinoderms: Skeletal Adaptations for Bioinspired Design
15:10-15:20 Prof. Greg Sawicki (Georgia Institute of Technology, USA): A Common Currency for Evaluating Economy, Agility and Stability of Locomotion
15:20-15:40 Dr. Caterina Lamuta (University of Iowa, USA, INVITED): Bioinspired Actuation and Memory: Artificial Muscles and Artificial Synapses
15:40-15:50 Dr. Delyle Polet (Royal Veterinary College, UK): Stimulation pulse duration effects on activation characteristics in young and old mouse soleus
16.00 Activities / free time
18.30 Dinner
Registration
Registration and cost
Full cost for a 2-day symposium including 3 nights accommodation and registration for one person: 340,50 € (in double room), 435,00€ (in single room – there are a limited number of single rooms available)
Cost breakdown:
- Satellite event registration fee for the two-day programme: 150€/person. Fee includes program, 2 lunches, coffee/tea during sessions and 2 dinners.
- Accommodation with breakfast, sauna, gym included: 95 €/day/ 1 person room, 127 €/day / two person room. There are single and double rooms for a maximum of 80 persons. Please be aware that you may have to share a room.
To submit an abstract and/or to register your interest in attending the symposium, please click the following link:
NOTE: After you have completed the form, we will send a link later in the Spring allowing you to complete the registration and payment.
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