Mark your calendars 📅

Just one week until our next IMSI Research Seminar. Join us for a conversation with Prof. Gregory Sawicki on wearable robotics and advancing human mobility.

Join IMSI for a research seminar with Ridhi Sahani on in vivo skeletal muscle mechanics.

Explore how muscle properties shape function and inform rehab design.

📅 May 11
🕘 9–10 AM PT

Learn more: cims.uci.edu/event/resear...

RSVP: CIMS@uci.edu

#Biomechanics #MuscleMechanics #STEM #Science

Screenshot of PDF of the Special Issue Commentary, 'Comparative and evolutionary perspectives on the integrative biology of exercise', by Monica A. Daley, Erika J. Eliason, Christopher G. Guglielmo and Natalie Holt. The publishing information states: © 2026. Published by The Company of Biologists | Journal of Experimental Biology (2026) 229, jeb252325. doi:10.1242/jeb.252325. The first sentence reads: 'Understanding how animals achieve movement and athletic performance in varied conditions requires integration across physiological systems and structural scales from molecules to ecosystems'.

Understanding how animals perform bouts of physical activity involves integration across scales & physiological systems. In their Commentary the Guest Editors of the Integrative Biology of Exercise SI highlight 5 themes, bridging fields & scales of study
doi.org/10.1242/jeb....

A new paper on guinea fowl gait biomechanics for National Biomechanics Day! 

How do bipedal animals adjust movement to avoid falls in slippery terrain? We found that guinea fowl slow down, take shorter steps and adjust posture to reduce fall risk in slippery terrain, just like humans. 


1/3

Faster fowl fall frequently: speed and force regulation during turning maneuvers by guinea fowl on high and low friction terrains Summary: Birds run slower and modulate limb–substrate reaction forces when executing turns on slippery terrain, but individual speed preferences persist even with practice and experience of higher sli...

New research in The Journal of Experimental Biology (@jexpbiol.bsky.social) by Hannah Goldsmith, Jade Hall, and Monica A. Daley:

Turning in guinea fowl on low-friction terrain reveals a trade-off between speed and stability.

Article:
doi.org/10.1242/jeb....

Dataset:
doi.org/10.5061/drya...

During the final session of IMSI’s Prepare to Play Workshop, students used force plate data to explore how ground reaction forces shape their movement and contribute to ball velocity at release, bringing biomechanics and hands-on STEM to life.

#MovementScience #biomechanics #IMSI

It was a blast teaching these students to code simulation models in Python.

Catch the replay video here!
www.youtube.com/live/LYwOEOJ...

During the second session of IMSI's Prepare to Play Workshop, students used their own data to build Python simulations and explore the physics of basketball shots—bringing biomechanics, computation, and hands-on STEM to life. Led by Dr. Christian Hubicki @chubicki.bsky.social.

#MovementScience

During the first session of IMSI’s Prepare to Play Workshop, middle school students joined Westview’s IMS team to explore basketball shot mechanics using high-speed video and motion analysis. Comparing standing and seated shots, students began to see how science reveals movement.
#biomechanics #IMSI

Join IMSI and Prof. Gregory S. Sawicki (Georgia Tech) for Pushing Exoskeletons Out of the Lab and Into the Wild: Smart-Apparel to Support Resilient Mobility Across the Healthspan and Lifespan.

📅 April 21 | 12–1 PM PT
🔗 cims.uci.edu/event/resear...

#Biomechanics #WearableRobotics

In situ muscle pre-activation shifts the lateral gastrocnemius muscle–tendon unit to rely on active fascicle lengthening to absorb peak power input Summary: A muscle pre-activation strategy during in situ stretch experiments reveals how a muscle–tendon unit deals with high rates of energy-absorbing demands.

New research by Daisey Vega and IMSI affiliate Christopher J. Arellano in the Journal of Experimental Biology @jexpbiol.bsky.social examines how muscle pre-activation shapes lateral gastrocnemius mechanics during locomotion.

Read the paper:
journals.biologists.com/jeb/article/...

#Biomechanics

⏰ Reminder: Applications for the IMSI Summer Institute 2026 close March 21.

If you’re interested in immersive, research-driven training in movement science this summer, we encourage you to apply.

Learn more and apply:
lnkd.in/gRPtTaS7

IMSI Research Seminar | Coen P. H. Elemans — Embodied Motor Control of the Animal Voice YouTube video by IMSI - Integrative Movement Sciences Institute

Reminder: IMSI Research Seminar tomorrow

How do animals produce sound, and what can that teach us about the human voice?

Join Prof. Coen Elemans for Embodied Motor Control of the Animal Voice.

Stream live Mar 11, 1–2 PM PT, or watch the recording afterwards:

www.youtube.com/live/FKPTMpb...

The death of Alan Wilson is an enormous loss to comparative biomechanics. He was a visionary who pushed the envelope of technology to enable rigorous measures of movement and physiology of wild animals. He lifted the entire field by pushing us to address big, integrative questions.

“You know, we can science this stuff.” 🔥

In last week’s episode of Survivor, IMSI’s Dr. Christian Hubicki used glasses to magnify sunlight and create fire, showing how scientific thinking can help solve real-world problems.

Tune in tonight to watch him on Survivor!

#Survivor50 #TeamHubicki #STEM

You Can Code with Dr. Christian Hubicki YouTube video by Christian Hubicki

You Can Code Workshop

Live today 3:30–4:30 PM ET: Learn Python from scratch as Dr. Christian Hubicki and the Integrative Movement Sciences Student Team simulate a basketball foul shot.

Watch live at the link below, or catch the recording afterward.
www.youtube.com/live/LYwOEOJ...

We are proud to share that IMSI Co-Director Kiisa Nishikawa has been named the recipient of the 2026 SEB Bidder Lecture Award by the Society for Experimental Biology.

Please join us in congratulating her on this outstanding achievement.

#SEB2026 #ExperimentalBiology #ScientificAchievement #STEM

Meet Surabhi Simha, a Postdoctoral Fellow at Georgia Tech and Emory University, whose research investigates neural control of human movement with a focus on mechanistic muscle spindle models and energy-efficient gait adaptation.

Part of our Women at IMSI spotlight series.
#WomenAtIMSI #Biomechanics

Flyer for the 2026 IMSI Summer Institute: Recruiting research interns. Join our interdisciplinary research training internship and study biomechanics, muscle physiology, biophysics, neurosciences, rehabilitation sciences and engineering. All career stages welcome, undergraduates especially encouraged to apply. Full time paid opportunity. Intensive research experience, practical skills development, supportive mentorship. Learn more at CIMS.uci.edu. One photo show a lab member collecting motion capture data as a person jumps. Another photo shows IMSI researchers setting up a camera for data collection in at a field research location showing a desert landscape in the foreground and a mountain range in the background.

Call for applications to the 2026 Integrative Movement Sciences Summer Institute!

 This is a funded research internship, open to all career stages.
We especially encourage undergraduates to apply. 

Application deadline is March 21.

More details here: cims.uci.edu/imsi-si-2026/
Please share!

Join IMSI for a Research Seminar with Prof. Coen Elemans presenting Embodied Motor Control of the Animal Voice.

📅 March 11
🕐 1:00 to 2:00 PM PT | 9:00 to 10:00 PM CET

Learn more: cims.uci.edu/event/resear...

RSVP to CIMS@uci.edu for the Zoom link.

Meet Autumn Routt, a PhD student at Georgia Tech studying how pregnancy impacts balance. She uses computational modeling and human-subject research to examine fall risk and prevention during pregnancy.

Part of our Women at IMSI spotlight series. Follow along for more.

#WomenAtIMSI #WomenInScience

Earlier today, IMSI’s @chubicki.bsky.social broke down the biomechanics behind one of Survivor’s toughest endurance challenges live on Survivor’s YouTube stream.

From muscle fatigue to mental strategy, endurance is as psychological as it is physical.

#Survivor50 #TeamHubicki #Biomechanics #STEM

LIVE at 12PM ET - Survivor 50 Hand on a Hard Idol Live from New York City! YouTube video by SurvivorOnCBS

Dr. Christian Hubicki will be live soon breaking down the biomechanics behind a Survivor challenge. Tune in to see movement science in action.

Watch here: www.youtube.com/live/QjIWkAa...

Meet Emma Blalock, a Biological Sciences undergraduate at UC Irvine. Through a recent project at IMSI, she investigated how focal muscle vibration influenced proprioception and movement control.

Part of our Women at IMSI spotlight series. Follow along for more.

#WomenAtIMSI #WomenInScience

Applications are now open for the IMSI Summer Institute 2026.

An interdisciplinary, full-time, paid research experience in integrative movement science.

Apply by March 21, 2026.

Visit cims.uci.edu/imsi-si-2026/ to learn more.

#IMSI #IntegrativeMovementScience #SummerInstitute #Biomechanics #STEM

Survivor is back, and so is Dr. Christian Hubicki.
IMSI faculty member @chubicki.bsky.social returns for Season 50, premiering Wednesday, February 25.

Tune in and cheer him on.

#Survivor50 #IMSI #STEMCommunity

Meet Hansol Ryu, a Postdoctoral Fellow at Georgia Tech and Emory University, whose research bridges physiology and control theory to understand human sensorimotor adaptation.

Part of our Women at IMSI spotlight series. Follow along for more.
#WomenAtIMSI #WomenInScience #Biomechanics #STEM

Student innovation on display ✂️ YouTube video by IMSI - Integrative Movement Sciences Institute

Westview High School opened its new engineering building, now home to the IMSI student team. Their project, Prepare to Play, explores motion and athletic performance through hands-on research.

Hear from the students and faculty behind the work.

#IntegrativeMovementScience #IMSI #PrepareToPlay

For International Day of Women and Girls in Science, we’re kicking off our Women of IMSI spotlight series. Stay tuned for more!

#InternationalDayOfWomenAndGirlsInScience #WomenOfIMSI #WomenInResearch #STEMCommunity #Biomechanics #ScienceMatters

What is IMSI? YouTube video by IMSI - Integrative Movement Sciences Institute

Some of you may be asking: "What exactly is IMSI?"

This short video introduces the Integrative Movement Sciences Institute (IMSI) and our interdisciplinary work advancing movement science.

#IMSI #MovementScience #HumanPerformance #Biomechanics #Robotics