The Orthopaedic Research Society annual meeting 2015 was held at the end of March in the spectacular MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Over the four-day conference there were 49 speaking sessions with 262 oral presentations covering a wide range of musculoskeletal topics.

A total of 2031 posters were on display throughout the conference, with 6 posters from the Musculoskeletal Research Group which was represented by PhD students Abbey Thorpe and Abbie Binch and Dr Christine Le Maitre, reader in molecular cell biology.

Large Cohort Investigation of Nerve and Blood Vessel Ingrowth into Human Intervertebral Discs - Binch, A.L.A., Chiverton, N., Cole, A., Breakwell, L., Michael, A., Creemers, L., Cross, A., Le Maitre, C.L.

The Role of Class 3 Semaphorins in Innervation and Angiogenesis within the Degenerate Human Intervertebral Disc - Binch, A.L.A., Chiverton, N., Cole, A., Breakwell, L., Michael, A., Creemers, L., Cross, A., Le Maitre, C.L.

Cannabinoid Receptor Expression in OA Cartilage - Dunn, S.L., Crawford, A., Wilkinson, J.M., Bunning, R.A.D., Le Maitre, C.L.

Thermally triggered injectable hydrogel which induces mesenchymal stem cell differentiation to promote regeneration of the intervertebral disc - Thorpe, A., Boyes, V., Sammon, C., *Le Maitre, C.L.

Two posters were selected to feature in the poster walking tours

In vivo safety testing of a fully reacted, injectable platform hydrogel for use in musculoskeletal regeneration - Thorpe, A., Freeman, C., Farthing, P., Hatton, P., Brook, I., Sammon, C., *Le Maitre, C.L.

Is there a true nucleus pulposus (NP) marker which can be used to determine stem cell differentiation towards a nucleus pulposus phenotype rather than chondrocytes? - Thorpe, A., Binch, A., Creemers, L., Cole, A., Breakwell, L., Michael, A.L.R., Chiverton, N., Sammon, C., *Le Maitre, C.L.

Following the conference Abbie Binch and Abbey Thorpe gave oral presentations at collaborating institutions at The Jewish General Hospital (Dr Fackson Mwale) and Montreal General Hospital (Dr Lisbet Haglund) in Montreal, Canada and Thomas Jefferson Hospital (Prof Makarand Risbud) in Philadelphia, where their work was well received.

The ORS 2015 conference overall was an excellent meeting, giving the opportunity to learn about fascinating research as well as network and discuss with experts across a broad spectrum of musculoskeletal disciplines. The Musculoskeletal Research Group would like to thank the Biomolecular Sciences Research Centre, Sheffield Hallam University for funding and the MacroGroup UK for awarding the DH Richards Travel Bursary that helped make it possible.