Thank you to our summer students Alex Baranyai, Lindsay Bomba, Luv Kataria, and Lindsey Sydnor
August 20, 2026
The biggest thanks to the four wonderful students who joined us for the summer this year! We wish Lindsay Bomba, our 2026 American Society of Laboratory Animal Practitioners Fellow, and Luv Kataria, our 2026 Association of Academic Physiatrists Rehabilitation Research Experience Fellow, good luck as they return to veterinary and medical school this fall. We are so grateful you wanted to work with us this summer and are so proud of all the work you've accomplished in such a short period of time! We'd also like to thank medical student Lindsey Sydnor, who completed her first summer with us, and undergraduate researcher Alex Baranyai, who completed her second summer in the lab as part of UPenn's University Scholars Research Training Grant, for their outstanding contributions to our research! The commitment all four of you have shown to ensure everything you do is done well can not be understated, and we can't wait to see what you do next.
Colorado State University Invites Dr. Gullbrand to Speak
July 17, 2026
Dr. Gullbrand was invited to speak at Colorado State University's College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences today where she talked about "Disc Degeneration and Repair Through the Lens of Multi-Tissue Crosstalk."
Dr. Layne Freeman Finishes Her Research Year in the Gullbrand Lab
June 30, 2026
Today Dr. Layne Freeman finished her research year in the Gullbrand Lab as part of the University of Pennsylvania's Laboratory Animal Veterinary Medicine Residency Program. Layne has been the driving force leading our active Merit Grant from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs "Predicting the Efficacy of Therapeutic Spinal Loading for Intervertebral Disc Degeneration" as we continue to understand how prescribed exercise may prevent degeneration of the spine. We are sad that Layne must leave us to return to the clinic and finish her last year of residency, but we are grateful that she has set this project up for continued success and will continue to prepare the results for publication to share with our orthopaedic community.
Dr. Pushpak Pondugula Speaks at Penn Medicine Orthopaedic Research Day
June 18, 2026
Orthopaedic Surgery resident Dr. Pushpak Pondugula completed his research year in the Gullbrand Lab with a presentation of his work at Penn Medicine's Ortho Research Day! His presentation highlighted the work he did this year in collaboration with Dr. Jay Patel and his team at the Atlanta VA developing an injectable tissue penetrating hyaluronic acid hydrogel for the treatment of facet osteoarthritis. This work is funded by a joint site Pilot Grant through the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs CReATE Motion Center.
Congratulations to Brianna Orozco on Graduating with a Master's in Bioengineering
May 22, 2026
Congratulations to Brianna Orozco on her graduation! Brianna earned a Masters of Science in Bioengineering with her thesis "Comparison of Transport Properties Between Human and Tissue-Engineered Vertebral Endplates." We are so happy Brianna is sticking around to continue her work as a vital member of our research staff.