Samantha Weaver, PhD, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Comparative Biosciences whose research focuses on the molecular mechanisms that govern bone and cartilage development, maintenance, and disease. Her work targets musculoskeletal disorders such as osteoarthritis and osteoporosis, which pose an increasing global health and economic burden. By integrating transgenic mouse models, cell-based approaches, and advanced imaging techniques, Dr. Weaver examines how specific genes and signaling pathways regulate bone and cartilage regeneration across the lifespan, following injury, and during physiological transitions including aging, menopause, pregnancy, and lactation. Her long-term objective is to identify new therapeutic targets and develop strategies to prevent tissue loss and enhance musculoskeletal regeneration.

ORL Seminar: Tuesday, March 3, 2026 at 9:00 am

Title: "GIRK Channels in Bone Development and Regeneration"

In Person: Biomedical Science Research Building, Flr 2, Rm 2515, 109 Zina Pitcher Place, Ann Arbor 48109

Zoom: https://umich.zoom.us/j/91511212808  (passcode:orl) 

Dr. Dailey has been with the department since November 2020. Her research focuses on improving patient outcomes and elevating the quality of care for individuals undergoing hip and knee replacement surgery. As hip and knee replacement surgeries have become more prevalent, it is more important than ever to evaluate our practices and look for opportunities to improve patient care.  Her work emphasizes the ongoing evaluation of clinical practices to identify opportunities to enhance patient safety, effectiveness of care, and overall surgical outcomes. Her research interests include clinical outcomes following joint replacement, resident education, and quality improvement initiatives designed to advance evidence-based care.

Her prior work has explored key areas such as appropriate antibiotic selection and measures to reduce infections, reducing hip fractures with implant selections, and strategies to improve opioid prescribing practices. As Co-Director of the Michigan Arthroplasty Registry for Collaborative Quality Initiative (MARCQI) and ASC Physician Lead for the Michigan Arthroplasty Collaborative Quality Initiative, Dr. Dailey continues to support statewide quality improvement efforts while expanding research into patient optimization, how access to transportation affects surgical outcomes, and how we can improve quality of care and patient experiences using Patient Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs).

Upcoming Changes to the NIH Biographical Sketch (Effective January 25, 2026)
The Grant Services & Analysis Office’s Research Development team has released a new YouTube video outlining important updates to the NIH Biographical Sketch, including the new SciENcv digital certification requirement for NIH applications submitted on or after January 25, 2026. The video explains key differences between the current and new biosketch forms, provides a step-by-step demonstration of how to create and certify an NIH biosketch in SciENcv, and offers guidance on how to prepare for these upcoming changes. The video is available on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OjtVcH0Yo8U.

For detailed, NIH-provided instructions on completing the new biosketch forms in SciENcv, please refer to:

• NIH Biographical Sketch Common Form Instructions

• NIH Biographical Sketch Supplement Form Instructions

For questions or additional support, please contact Kaileigh Stuchlik (klykins@umich.edu). To add Kaileigh Stuchlik as a delegate, please follow these instructions:  How to add a delegate 

Please save the date for a welcome reception hosted by the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery in conjunction with the Annual ORS Conference. The reception will take place on Friday, March 27, starting at 8:00pm in Charlotte, North Carolina. Additional details will be provided at a later date.  

If you have not yet registered for the 2026 Annual ORS Meeting, please register here: https://www.ors.org/2026annualmeeting/ 

Save the date for the Tenth Annual Musculoskeletal Health Symposium, taking place on Tuesday, May 26, 2026. The event will feature keynote speaker Dr. Renny Franceschi and will be held at the North Campus Research Complex, Building 18 (Football Room), 2800 Plymouth Road, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109. Additional details will be shared soon.

Reserve your spot by registering here:2026 Tenth Annual MiMHC Sypmosium 

Norihiko Taniguchi (Nori) is thrilled to join the University of Michigan as the Co-Director of the ASICS x Michigan Sport Innovation Center.

He is originally trained in mechanical engineering and holds a Ph.D. focused on the impact properties of fiber-reinforced plastics. For the past 26 years, he worked at ASICS, where he dedicated his career to sports engineering—studying how people move, how their bodies respond to exercise, and how materials and structures can be designed to support better athletic performance.

One of the reasons he loves this field is that creating a single pair of high-performance sports shoes brings together many different areas of knowledge, including biomechanics, physiology, materials science, and structural engineering. It is truly interdisciplinary—much like the work happening at Michigan.

At the ASICS x Michigan Sport Innovation Center, he is excited to collaborate with Dr. Ken Kozloff and faculty across campus to tackle new challenges in sports product design. Even more, he looks forward to working with students who are curious, creative, and eager to push the boundaries of what is possible.

If you are interested in human performance, sports technology, engineering, or simply enjoy solving complex problems, he would be happy to connect. Together, he hopes to explore new ideas, bridge academic fields, and create innovations that help athletes—and people everywhere—perform at their best.

He looks forward to meeting and learning from the incredible Michigan community!

Bachir joined the Abraham-Killian Labs in January 2026. He received his PhD from the University of Michigan in September 2025, and his dissertation focused on the mechanics of Acoustic Droplet Vaporization and material characterization at ultra-high strain rates using laser-induced cavitation. His multidisciplinary research aims to contribute to the field of histotripsy and nanomedicine interventions. Bachir earned his Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering from Brown University and spent several years as a Consultant at Veryst Engineering, a firm outside of Boston, prior to pursuing his PhD. 

Bachir has extensive experience in solid mechanics, image processing, experimental design, and Finite Element Analysis. He is looking forward to supporting the Killian-Abraham Labs in designing a tendon-specific microphysiological system with tunable stiffness for drug screening. 

Outside of his research, Bachir is the President of UWC Western Sahara, where he has provided 50 scholarships to students from Sahrawi refugee camps to attend UWC international high school programs around the world. In his free time, Bachir enjoys camping, playing soccer, and watching a good action movie. 

This February, Action for Happiness invites everyone to take part in Friendly February. Simple acts like sending an encouraging note, smiling at others to brighten their day, or thanking three people you’re grateful for—and telling them why—can make a real difference. I encourage you to complete at least two of these Friendly February kindness acts and help spread a little more warmth and connection. 

“Kindness is a language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see.” — Mark Twain