Welcome to McKay Orthopaedic Research Laboratory
The McKay Orthopaedic Research Laboratory is looking to hire an Assistant Professor on the Tenure Track! For more information please visit click the link.
https://www.med.upenn.edu/orl/join-us-position.html
A program in orthopaedic research at the University of Pennsylvania was established in 1960, and in 1979 the McKay Orthopaedic Research Laboratory officially opened, establishing all of the orthopaedic research laboratories in the same physical location. Currently, the McKay Lab is a thriving, multidisciplinary facility that occupies more than 22,000 square feet of space in Stemmler Hall in the Perelman School of Medicine. Our multi-faceted research programs involve the participation of more than 120 research personnel from 17 distinct laboratories. Research expenditures in McKay total more than $15,000,000 per annum, supported largely through extramural funding including grants from the National Institutes of Health, Veteran's Administration, other governmental agencies, private foundations, and industry. We are consistently ranked in the top 5 among Orthopaedic Departments nationally in terms of NIH funding. Our overall mission is to conduct high quality fundamental and translational research and to train the next generation of leaders in our field. Moreover, the McKay Lab serves as the focal point for the NIH-supported Penn Center for Musculoskeletal Disorders, a university-wide Center that provides resources and a forum for scientific exchange through annual symposia, a year-long seminar series, a pilot grant program and other activities.
McKay Laboratory News
Congratulations to Dr. Maggie Tamburro. Dr. Volk, Dr. Soslowsky + team!
May 14, 2026
Congratulations to Maggie, Jackie, Will, Steph, Emma, Miranda, Courtney, Mengcun, Daniel, Jeremy, Dr. Soslowsky, and Dr. Volk! Their manuscript, "Loss of Type III Collagen has Limited Effect on Tendon Healing in Young Adult Mice" has been accepted for publication in Matrix Biology!
Soslowsky Laboratory
Dr. Layne Freeman Organizes Biomedical Research Awareness Day and Dr. Sarah Gullbrand Speaks
April 16, 2026
Our veterinary surgical resident Dr. Layne Freeman organized this year's Biomedical Research Awareness Day at Penn with her fellow residents! The annual event highlights investigators across all schools at Penn whose research involves the use of animals. Specifically, BRAD is designed to highlight laboratories who best use the 3Rs approach when conducting their studies. This includes Replacement of animals with other models when appropriate, Reduction in the number of animals necessary to complete a study whenever possible, and Refinement of procedures to increase a study's impact while improving quality of life for our animals. Our very own Dr. Sarah Gullbrand presented our work using rabbits to understand why some people with low back pain benefit from physical therapy while others don't, focusing on the 3R components of these studies. Much of our work is beginning to show that providing our rabbits with more enrichment in the form structured exercise and unstructured play time may lead to both healthier spines and happier rabbits.
Gullbrand Laboratory
Congratulations to Dr. Mike DiStefano, Rebecca Betts, Courtney Nuss, Srish Chenna, and Dr. Soslwosky!
March 31, 2026
Congratulations to Mike, Becca, Courtney, Srish, and Dr. Soslowsky on the acceptance of their manuscript, “Tendon-Targeted Knockout of Collagen XII Disrupts Murine Achilles Tendon Structure, Function, and Gene Expression at Later Stages of Postnatal Development,” for publication in the Annals of Biomedical Engineering!
Soslowsky Laboratory