The Musculoskeletal Biomechanics Laboratory (MBL) was established under the directorship of Gerard A. Ateshian in 1996. Professor Ateshian has a joint appointment in Columbia's Departments of Mechanical Engineering and Biomedical Engineering and he recruits students from both programs. Initially, the MBL's research focused principally on cartilage mechanics and lubrication. Starting in the late 1990s, a strong collaborative effort was established with Prof. Clark Hung's Cellular Engineering Laboratory in the areas of cartilage tissue engineering and cell mechanics. More recently, the research efforts of the MBL have expanded toward modeling of solute transport and growth processes in biological tissues; the development of computational tools that can address these mechanisms; and the extension of insights gained from musculoskeletal studies to cardiovascular tissues and reproductive cells. The MBL's fundamental philosophy is that major scientific breakthroughs can be achieved in biomedical engineering by judiciously combining theoretical analyses with experimental studies.

• Announcements
• September 2010: Prof. Ateshian and Prof. Hung were awarded a grant from the National Institutes of Health on the topic of "Optimizing Nutrient Supply in Large Engineered Cartilage Tissue Constructs."
• July 2010: Prof. Ateshian was elected to the Biomedical Engineering Society Class of 2010 Fellows.
• April 2010: Prof. Ateshian was awarded a grant from The National Institutes of Health on the topic of "Biotribology of Diarthrodial Joints." This award represents a reneweal of a project ongoing since 1995.
• January 2010: Matteo Caligaris successfully defended his PhD dissertation. Congratulations Matteo!
• December 2009: Michael Albro successfully defended his PhD dissertation. Congratulations Mike!