MOVE Center Updates

7th Annual Musculoskeletal Research Symposium

The MOVE Center had the opportunity to attend the 7th Annual Emory Musculoskeletal Research Symposium, and it was truly a fantastic event. From keynote talks to trainee spotlight sessions, student posters, and faculty presentations, the entire day reflected the depth and impact of musculoskeletal research.

A special thank you to Dr. Hicham Drissi for organizing such a well-structured and engaging symposium and for inviting the MOVE Center to be part of it.

group of people representing move center posing for a picture at emory's msk symposium

2026 GT NSF SUSMED/Move Center Joint Workshop

April 2026

We had a fantastic turnout and engagement at the joint workshop with Georgia Tech, with more than 130 attendees. It was truly energizing to see the level of participation, collaboration, and student involvement. Special thanks to Dr. Karin Scarpinato for the welcoming talk and Dr. Mark Geil for his great talk.

We are especially proud of all our students:

  • Vanessa Young – 2nd Best Oral Presentation
    • Supervisor: Ayse Tekes
  • Anurag Ovi – 3rd Best Oral Presentation
    • Supervisor: Paul Lee
  • Connor Talley – Best Poster Award
    • Supervisor: Ayse Tekes

This is exactly the kind of student-driven success that defines MOVE.

Shepherd Center Visit – Updates

April 2026

The recent visit and follow-up interactions with the Shepherd Center have been incredibly productive.

  • Dr. Milka Trajkova and Dr. Brad Willingham are preparing an NIH R15 proposal
  • Dr. Nick Evans visited my lab again last Friday for follow-up discussions
  • Dr. Deborah Backus will be meeting with Dr. Sungchul Jung soon to discuss next steps

There is more to come. These continued interactions are helping us build strong, meaningful collaborations.

Student speaks at the head of room to a crowd of people. Setting is an engineering research lab.

2026 American Academy of Orthotists and Prosthetists Annual Meeting and Scientific Symposium

All six of our Master of Science in Prosthetics and Orthotics capstone project groups presented posters at the American Academy of Orthotists and Prosthetists Annual Meeting and Scientific Symposium in Nashville, and we came away with five awards!

Students won audience-vote awards for Game Changes, Most Surprising Result, Best Graphical Display, and Most Interesting Title. We also won second place in the inaugural John Michael Student Poster Award (with a $500 prize).

A group of people posing for a photo at a recent MOVE Center event

MOVE Center meets with Dr. Minoru Shinohara (Georgia Tech)

January 2026

Dr. Minoru Shinohara, an associate professor and expert in human biomechanics, visited the MOVE Center recently.

The MOVE Center would like to thank everyone who attended and contributed — especially Drs. Garrett Hester, Milka Trajkova, and Gerald Mangine for their time and lab tours. 

Shriners Children’s Internal Grant Initiation Meeting

January 2026

MOVE Center Interim Director Dr. Ayse Tekes met with Dr. Joseph Krzak from Shriners Children’s to discuss a potential internal submission focused on pediatric prosthetic legs and/or ankle-foot orthoses, leveraging the center's reconfigurable compliant joint technologies. 

365 Days of Learning and Service Panel – Empowering Athletes with Disabilities

January 2026

MOVE Center Interim Director Dr. Ayse Tekes had the privilege of moderating 365 Days of Learning and Service Panel, which featured three outstanding speakers.

One of them was Sarah Kate Sligh, a graduate student at UGA, a national wheelchair tennis player, and an individual living with cerebral palsy. As a wheelchair user herself, she brings invaluable lived experience that could meaningfully guide our wheelchair projects.

Hello Robot Meeting

January 2026

The MOVE Center met with the CEO and researchers from Hello Robot, together with Drs. Coskun Tekes, Chris Voicu, Lingfeng Tao, and Sainan Zhang. The discussions focused on improving the Stretch 3 robot, and based on the feedback, they are planning follow-up meetings with individual faculty.

move va meeting

Meeting with Atlanta Regional Veterans Affairs – Regenerative and Musculoskeletal Health Research Center

January 2026

The MOVE Center met with Drs. Ashley Scales (Veterans Affairs), Hicham Drissi (Emory/VA), Greg Myer (Emory/VA), Jay Patel (Emory/VA), and Jarred Kaiter (Emory/VA), as well as 10 KSU faculty members and two PhD students.

The meeting was to introduce MOVE Center research topics and seek opportunities to collaborate and submit grants to the VA to improve the lives of veterans. 

The Veterans Affairs recently launched a new center, the Regenerative and Musculoskeletal Health Research Center, which is led by Dr. Hicham Drissi. 

Shriners Children’s State of Science: Focus on AI and Orthopedics Conference

January 2026

The MOVE Center attended Shriners Children’s State of Science: Focus on AI and Orthopedics Conference from January 9-10.

Ayse Tekes and Mark Geil delivered a presentation to introduce the MOVE Center to five scientists from Shriners as well as faculty members from Georgia Tech. Two faculty members, Sainan Zhang and Mark Geil, delivered additional  presentations. Two PhD students from Ayse Tekes' lab, one PhD student from Chris Voicu's lab, and Assistant Professor of Computer Science Asahi Tomitaka presented posters.

Vanessa Young, a PhD student in Ayse Tekes' lab, was awarded the second place during the poster sessions for her presentation, Improving Mobility Outcomes Through Personalized and Reconfigurable Compliant Joints.

move at shriners