The Bouxsein group employs a multidisciplinary strategy with state-of-the-art technologies to study the causes, detection and treatment of skeletal fragility. One in two women and one in five men over the age of 50 will suffer a fragility fracture in their remaining lifetime. Thus, our ultimate goal is to reduce the burden of fractures due to osteoporosis and other bone disorders. The Bouxsein group includes biomechanical engineers, anthropologists, and biologists, and we collaborate closely with molecular biologists, clinicians, imaging specialists, and musculoskeletal epidemiologists. We are funded by grants from the National Institute of Arthritis, Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, the National Institute on Aging, National Institute of Child Health and Development, and NASA.

In the news for us — we were recently awarded a grant from NASA to join a consortium of scientists from Amgen, Bioserve Technologies and the University of North Carolina, to conduct an experiment on the last shuttle flight (STS-135), scheduled to launch from Cape Canaveral on July 8th, 2011. We will be testing the ability of sclerostin antibody to promote bone formation during exposure to microgravity. See the logo for this project below, and check out the NASA website for details about the project.

We are very excited for this once in a lifetime opportunity. Check back to the website for updates from Cape Canaveral!