December 2022

ISB Now December 2022

• President's Blog
• Important information about the ISB 2023 Congress! Check it out!
• ISB 50yrs – Article submissions are open!
• Perspectives about the state of the art in gait analysis
• ISB Student Grant News
• Award competitions for the XXIX ISB Congress in Fukuoka
• Memories from the 2nd Conference of the South African Society of Biomechanics (SASB)
• Grant Report! International Affiliate Development Grant - Willian da Silva
• Join the NBD 2023 movement!
• ISB elections - nominations are open

ISB wants to hear from our ISB members!

Send your suggestions of topics that you would like to read in the next issues of ISB Now to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.and we will work to attend your requests.

President's Blog

“A challenging year ends, a new year begins with hope”: this would have been the core of my message today, when I started thinking about the December 2022 issue of ISB Now; but in fact, this was the title of a News release by the World Health Organisation Europe, on 18 January 2022. Of course, the pandemic crisis was meant, but a few weeks later another international terrible crisis started in Ukraina, not finishing soon from what we can see, affecting again our spirits and our economies. The hope for the future is what we all want, but from my experience it is not like a dream, it is always based on present and past facts, in real pieces of evidence (... like most of our research studies, right?).

For the matter of our scientific community, we certainly hope to have a nice new calendar year, but I want to say that this definitely is grounded in a mature and strong society in fact. In the last 50 years, ISB has grown constantly, has produced robust evidence, has developed patents and products, has contributed to brilliant careers, has established an agile but robust and durable model of governance, and has learned many important lessons. Still, a number of passionate, talented, and inspired people from around the world are working today with me to maintain our programmes, to enlarge our attraction, to reach the entire world, to develop new initiatives, to give opportunities to our scientists, and also to celebrate adequately the great anniversary we have in front. We are old, but we are happy, to recall Cat Stevens, and proud of what we have achieved so far. I am at more than half-way through my mandate, and I am so honoured to be part today of this community. I am sure we in ISB can look to the future with hope.

The top event in 2023 is definitely the ISB Congress in Fukuoka. Japan is a great nation, with a long and superb history. They’ve been working very hard for centuries, with passion and competence, as a tight-knit community; they have addressed conflicts and crisis, and they can now look to the future certainly with hope. We do want to know better them, and to learn. Do not miss the opportunity to taste this fascinating culture, and prepare your Abstracts for the Congress! The Abstract submission system was already opened at the end of October and the deadline for submission is coming at the end of January 2023. We do want to meet in person again, to exchange ideas and projects, to know each other better, to hear research stories with sympathy, and thus perhaps to strengthen friendships amongst people in the world.

Happy new year!

Alberto Leardini

ISB President

Important information about the ISB 2023 Congress! Check it out!

The XXIX Congress of the International Society of Biomechanics will take place in Fukuoka from July 30th to August 3rd next year.  As the congress website shows in the front page, abstract submission system started already.

We would like to highlight some important information regarding the event:

• The deadline of abstract submission is the end of January 2023. Please be aware that the deadline for applying to the ISB Awards is combined with the congress abstract submission deadline.
• The notification of abtract acceptance is 15th March 2023.
• The deadline of early bird registration is 10th May 2023.

You may want to visite the Congress Website and learn about the venue, invited speakers, congress program, and Fukuoka city!

If you have any question, you may also contact the congress organization!

ISB 50yrs – Article submissions are open!

Within the initiatives for the celebration of the 50 yrs of ISB, we’ve arranged six Special-Issues with the major journals for our society. You can find here below a few details, and you are all invited to contribute with manuscripts. In case of interest, follow the instructions where provided, or write to the Guest-Editor(s).It seems a nice opportunity to leave a memory in this milestone of our history, about which we are very proud.

With this initiative we want to point out what has been learned and achieved in Biomechanics in these five decades (a lot!), and what still needs to be understood and developed further.

Perspectives about the state of the art in gait analysis

We invite all ISB members to check the message below and help to identify the more important topics to mention when addressing the state of art in gait analysis.

Next year will be the International Society of biomechanics’ 50th anniversary. To help celebrate, the plan is to have a special issue of the Journal of Biomechanics.

We plan to publish a paper in this issue on the state of the art in gait analysis, providing perspective on this by considering the state of the art in the field 50 years ago. We think it would be really interesting to include a broad range of perspectives on how gait analysis has evolved over that time period, as well as some personal insights/stories.

To that end, we would be very grateful if you could please complete the survey in the link below. It should only take 5-10 minutes to complete. We’d love to hear your thoughts!

Survey link: https://forms.office.com/r/XM5Eai0jtC

Thanks very much!
Julie Stebbins
Caroline Stewart
Marian Harrington

ISB Student Grant News

The student grant program deadlines are approaching.

The Matching Dissertation Grant, International Travel Grant Program and International Affiliate Development Grant will be accepting applications with a deadline of January 3, 2023. These long-standing students grants offer support to grow your research toolbox and network with a visit to a lab in another country as well as support the completion of your dissertation project. Quick reminder you and your advisor must be active financial members of the ISB to participate in the grant program - don’t forget to renew to your membership for 2023. 

The XXIX ISB Congress will be in Fukuoka Japan next summer.  This will also be a grand celebration of the 50^th Anniversary of the ISB. The Student Congress Travel Grant is back with a deadline of Feb 1, 2023 These grants will vary in size from $600USD up to $1200USD, according to the distance from the Congress city. To be eligible for this grant the student must be first author of the Abstract and presenter of the paper at the Congress. At the time of application for the grant you must not have defended your dissertation or concluded your degree program. More details can be found on the ISB website.   

**Attention Post-docs** The ISB will be supporting a NEW post-doc congress travel grant for 2023. Many current post-docs missed out on the opportunity to build their international network as the 2021 meeting in Stockholm was transitioned to a virtual meeting.  These $500USD awards may offset costs for registration to the Congress. To be eligible for the award the Postdoc must be the first author of the Abstract and presenter of the paper at the Congress. The deadline will be Feb 1, 2023. Details on the award will be posted to the ISB website soon.  

More details are available at https://isbweb.org/students/student-grants

Katherine Boyer ISB Council Student Grant Portfolio.

Award competitions for the XXIX ISB Congress in Fukuoka

Dear ISB members

It is our pleasure to announce the award competitions for the XXIX Congress of International Society of Biomechanics to be held in Fukuoka, Japan in 2023 (July 30th to August 3rd). For additional information look to the Congress Website or contact Tim Derrick, the ISB Awards Officer, at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. The application deadline is January 31, 2023.

Awards

1.     David Winter Young Investigator Awards (Podium and Poster). Candidates must be first author and should not have been awarded a PhD prior to abstract submission. For a brief biography of Dr. Winter visit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_A._Winter). Winners receive a certificate, USD $750 and free ISB membership for 2 years. Application deadline is the abstract deadline for the Congress (January 31, 2023).

2.     Clinical Biomechanics Award. Application is open to anyone. The winner receives USD $1250 and the opportunity to publish their research in the journal Clinical Biomechanics. Application deadline is the abstract deadline for the Congress (January 31, 2023).

3.     ISB World Athletics Award for Biomechanics. This is our only annual award, and it is sponsored by World Athletics for USD $5000. This award will recognize excellence in an area of biomechanics determined by World Athletics. This year’s theme is jumping. In non-ISB Congress years, the award is presented at the ISBS Congress. Authors of five selected abstracts will be asked to submit a full-length paper. The winner will submit their paper to the Journal of Applied Biomechanics and will be invited to give an oral presentation at the Congress. Application deadline is the abstract deadline for the Congress (January 31, 2023).

4.     Promising Scientist Award. Candidates must be first author and have been awarded a PhD by the time of the Congress but not be more than 5 years post-PhD at the time of the Congress. The winner will be invited to give a plenary presentation at the Congress, will receive a certificate, USD $5000, and a waiver of the registration fee. Application deadline is January 31, 2023.

5.     Carlo de Luca Emerging Scientist Award. Candidates must not have received their PhD before the previous ISB Congress. The award recognizes excellence in graduate research in motor control and electromyography (for a brief biography of Professor De Luca visit https://www.delucafoundation.org/about/carlo/). The winner will be invited to give a plenary presentation at the Congress, will receive a certificate, USD $2500, and a waiver of the registration fee. Application deadline is January 31, 2023.

6.     The Jacquelin Perry Emerging Female Scientist Award. This is a biennial award sponsored by the International Society of Biomechanics for USD $5000. Dr. Perry’s groundbreaking research in gait came at a time in which gender inequities established barriers for female researchers (for a brief biography of Dr. Perry visit http://www.polioplace.org/people/jacquelin-perry-md-dsc-hon). Candidates must be female and have been awarded a PhD by the time of the Congress, but they should not be more than 5 years post-PhD. The award winner will be invited to give a plenary presentation at the ISB Congress and be granted a waiver of the registration fee for the Congress. Application deadline is January 31, 2023.

Memories from the 2nd Conference of the South African Society of Biomechanics (SASB)

The 2nd Conference of the South African Society of Biomechanics (SASB), in partnership with the International Festival of Sports, Exercise and Medicine, was held in Pretoria from 29 September – 2 October.

Biomechanics highlights included:

• Keynote speakers Jacqueline Alderson and Julia Powles, who gave a hard-hitting presentation on "Data In Sport: Is It Time To Change The Game?"

• Symposia and workshops about using force plates to assess jump performance, high-density electromyography, and coordination analysis

• Scientific abstracts, including the award for the best biomechanics oral presentation by Clement Gambelli on "The effect of tibialis anterior weakness on foot drop and toe clearance in patients with facioscapulohumeral dystrophy"

• Exhibitors and sponsors from the world of biomechanics: Lifemax, VALD Performance, Theia Markerless, and Delsys, Inc.

View the SASB website and follow on Twitter or LinkedIn for information about the Society and upcoming events.

Grant Report! International Affiliate Development Grant - Willian da Silva

International Affiliate Development Grant Report – Willian da Silva

The ISB International Affiliate Development Grant made it possible for me to visit the University of Valencia (UV) in Spain for a period of 30 days. While I am a Ph.D student in Brazil, my doctoral program is developed in co-tutelage with the Spanish university. Interestingly, the contact between my current University in Brazil and the University from Spain started when a Spanish student came to our laboratory in 2013 with the funding of an ISB travel grant. My visiting period was during September and October 2022 and was successfully carried out. The main goal of applying for the travel grant was to visit the Research Group in Biomechanics Applied to Sports (GIBD) from UV and work under supervision of Professor Jose Ignacio Priego-Quesada. The International Affiliate Development Grant from ISB enabled me to develop part of my Ph.D. research planned in collaboration between the two universities. In addition, during this visit my activities also included:

• To participate in the routine of the biomechanics laboratory of the Faculty of Physical Activity and Sport, University of Valencia, under the supervision of Dr. Jose Ignacio Priego-Quesada.
• To watch a thesis defense in the postgraduate program in Physical Activity and Sport from the University of Valencia.
• To participate in research and teaching projects involving Biomechanical measures and Biomechanics teaching strategies for undergraduate students.
• To collaborate in a doctoral thesis project aiming to measure internal and external training loads using accelerometers, GPS, and gyroscopes during a simulated volleyball competition.
• To visit different laboratories from the UV such as the performance laboratory and the medical school and create professional connections.
• To help in data collection involving exercise-induced muscle fatigue with measurements of strength, torque, skin temperature, and muscle oxygen saturation.

I would like to thank the ISB for granting the International Affiliate Development Grant travel grant and for all the work developed towards the development of students and new scientists in the field of biomechanics. I would like to thank my supervisor Professor Felipe P Carpes for the daily encouragement as well as the help in preparing the proposal, and Professor Jose Ignacio Priego-Quesada for all the help and assistance and his role as host professor.

Furthermore, I would like to thank all the students and professors of the Research Group in Biomechanics Applied to Sport (GIBD) for having me at the University of Valencia and for all their support during my stay. Especially the students Carlos Sendra Perez and Joaquin Marzano. Also, I would like to thank my colleagues from the Research Group on Applied Neuromechanics (GNAP) at the Federal University of Pampa in Brazil for all the support along my path.

I am sure that this experience will make a big difference in my professional and personal life. I will continue working to learn more about biomechanics, seeking my development as a future scientist in the area and also contributing to the development of students interested in learning more about the biomechanics of human movement.

Best regards

Willian da Silva.

Pofessor Priego-Quesada (left) and student Willian da Silva (right).

Join the NBD 2023 movement!

National Biomechanics Day is a world-wide celebration of Biomechanics in its many forms for high school students and teachers.

Register your event by clicking here and sending the main details about your proposal.

Apply for one of the grants that can support your initiative! Make sure you submit your application by December 15!

• Black Biomechanists Outreach Through National Biomechanics Day Grant Program [check application guidelines here]
• Women in Biomechanics Outreach Through National Biomechanics Day Grant Program [check application guidelines here]
• LatinX in Biomechanics Outreach Through National Biomechanics Day Grant Program [check application guidelines here]
• Disability Biomechanics Outreach Through National Biomechanics Day Grant Program [check application guidelines here]

ISB elections

The elections for ISB president and council members will be in spring and ISB members are welcome to nominate candidates. If you want to nominate a candidate, please fell free to send the nomination to our Past President Prof. Toni Arndt (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).