The International Chinese Musculoskeletal Research Society (ICMRS) successfully convened the 3rd International Chinese Musculoskeletal Research Conference (ICMRC-2017) in Shihezi, Xinjiang, China on Aug. 17-20, 2017. This biennial conference, concurrent with the 5th International Biomedical Forum of West China, was co-organized by ICMRS and Shihezi University, and hosted by the First Affiliated Hospital of Shihezi University. The theme of ICMRC-2017 was to "Enhance basic research, promote scientific and technological innovation, and serve ‘The Belt and Road’". Aiming at enhancing communication among medical research colleagues, exchanging the latest research findings and expanding the international view of domestic scholars, leading scholars from the United States, Australia, Hong Kong, and the mainland China were invited to present the worldwide leading-edge research findings and technologies in the basic medical study of musculoskeletal system.
Prof. James H-C. Wang, ICMRS President and Conference Co-Chair, delivered a speech in the opening ceremony of ICMRC-2017 on behalf of ICMRS.
Prof. Chenhui Shi, President of the First Affiliated Hospital of Shihezi University and Conference Co-Chair, chaired the opening ceremony of ICMRC-2017.
With nearly 400 attendees, 3 parallel sessions (2 basic science sessions and 1 clinical study session), 108 podium presentations (including 13 plenary lectures, 57 invited talks, and 38 oral presentations), and 63 poster presentations, ICMRC-2017 turned out to be a great success.
Besides the regular scientific presentations, ICMRC-2017 also featured translational strategies by inviting venture capital professionals to present valuable information on topics such as start-up financing and venture investment. Prof. Xu Cao, Immediate Past President of ICMRS and Conference Co-Chair, presented a special talk on utilizing venture capital to promote translational skeletal disease research. In addition, ICMRS Junior Leadership Development Committee (ICMRS-JLDC), chaired by Profs Liu Yang and Lucas Lu, organized a special session on the topic "How to publish a high impact paper" by ICMRS Junior Leadership Development Committee (ICMRS-JLDC). Professors Xu Cao, Hong Zhou, and Anne-Marie Malfait shared their thoughts for preparing high quality academic papers as well as how to follow with a rebuttal and get animal studies accepted for publication in high profile journals.
During the conference, the China Development Committee (CDC) also organized an ICMRS China Collaborating Centers (CCCs) & CDC business meeting, which included the CCC representatives, CDC members, newly approved lifetime members (LTMs) of ICMRS, and specially invited guests. President James Wang presented an opening remark and a brief introduction of important society affairs. Honor plaques were presented to the newly approved LTMs who attended ICMRC-2017. Four newly approved CCCs briefly introduced themselves. In addition, the Orthopaedic Research Center in the University of Hong Kong - ICMRS Collaborating Center for Bone Diseases and Aging, directed by Prof. William W. Lu, made a brief introduction to show their interest in hosting the 4th International Chinese Musculoskeletal Research Conference (ICMRC-2019) in Hong Kong.
The Award Committee selected and presented 28 prizes in total, including 14 best presentations in the oral and 14 best presentations in the poster categories.
Finally, the conference ended with the closing remarks from Prof. Tingting Tang, President-elect of ICMRS, and Prof. Xu Cao.
