Congratulations to Karen Troy for being selected as the winner of the inaugural BME Outstanding Researcher Award for 2021. Karen’s research is focused on how physical forces applied to the body affect the musculoskeletal system and, ultimately, how they can be used to both understand physiologic adaptation and improve bone and joint health. She has a special focus on women’s health, sorely needed in the field. Karen has garnered many research awards in the field of biomechanics throughout her career, many from the flagship American Society of Biomechanics (ASB). These awards include the Microstrain Award, and she was twice awarded the Clinical Biomechanics Award which highlights an important aspect of her work – clinical applicability. Karen’s work is not only technically of the highest quality, it also has real-world impact. She collaborates actively with many clinicians, working hard to translate her findings into therapies to help patients.
Further, in 2020 Karen was the Program Chair for the ASB Annual Meeting. Karen was able to plan and execute a highly successful virtual meeting last August after pivoting the programming plans to online due to the coronavirus pandemic. She has also recently been elected to the Board of Directors of the Orthopaedic Research Society as Career Development Council Chair overseeing the New Investigator Mentoring Committees, perfectly in line with her commitment to mentoring students and junior faculty.