6th February: Arrival in Phoenix
The BORS-BJR 2025 Travelling Fellowship started at the Orthopaedic Research Society (ORS) 2025 Annual Meeting in Phoenix, Arizona. The fellows landed in Phoenix late on the Thursday evening, and after a quick catch-up headed to bed to rest-up for the first day of the meeting!
7th February: Settling in and Exploring Phoenix
The day began with a delightful breakfast in the sunshine before the fellows headed over to the conference centre to set up posters and get their bearings. They were lucky to bump into Prof. Ines Reichart, BORS president-elect, for a photo opportunity at the registration desk. In the evening, the fellows ventured to central Phoenix to visit a local brewery and experience the ‘First Friday’ arts festival, a lively event showcasing local art, music, and culture. The day concluded with the JOR dinner, providing an opportunity to network and discuss research with peers.
8th February: Poster Presentations and ICORS AI Session
The second day was packed with standout research talks, including the ICORS AI session, ‘Advancing clinical impact of movement analysis and patient activity: Monitoring combining wearables, AI, computer vision, and data driven approaches’, which delved into the advancements and applications of artificial intelligence in orthopaedics. The evening saw poster presentations by Ryan, Hattie, and Mo, all of which were well-received and garnered interesting discussions.
The day ended on a high note, with the fellows settling in to watch the Phoenix Suns take on the Denver Nuggets in an NBA game, a fun and relaxing break from the academic activities.
9th February: Tim H’s Talk and Superbowl
The highlight of the day was Tim H’s talk on ‘Functional Growth Factor Patterning in Organ-on-a-Chip’, part of a fascinating session on ‘Emerging Technologies in Bone Research’. The talk generated interesting follow-up discussions and possible collaboration with researchers in Colorado. In the evening, the fellows gathered to watch the Superbowl, enjoying the spectacle (despite not fully understanding the rules!).
10th February: Poster Presentations and Lunch with Colleagues
Mo, Hattie and Tim were up and about early to run 12km in the Arizona sunshine! The highlight of the morning session at ORS was ‘A Focus on Translational Research’. The fellows were able to meet up with Ines and Irene, a previous travelling fellow for lunch. Hearing about Irene’s experience of the fellowship built anticipation for the upcoming visits. Hattie had to leave early to attend the ‘Computational Modelling and Simulation Workshop’, meaning that she missed the photo op! Tim L and Ryan delivered fantastic poster presentations in the evening, and the fellows had the chance to catch up with Prof. Hamish Simpson, past editor-in-chief of the Bone and Joint Research Journal.
11th February: Cactus Garden and Farewell to Phoenix
The highlight of the academic programme on the final day was the ‘Cartilage, pain and models’ session, which saw fantastic talks from a number of researchers, including Anne-Marie Malfait, the second host of this years’ fellowship! The afternoon was spent exploring the beautiful cactus garden with Prof. Sophie Williams, a fellow from the first BORS travelling fellowship (back in 2007!). In the evening, the fellows bid farewell to Phoenix (26°C) and boarded their flight to Iowa (-10°C).
British Orthopaedic Research Society 