Thomas J. Wronski, Ph.D.
President
University of Florida,
Dept. of Physiological Sciences,
Gainesville, FL, USA


November 19, 2010

The International Society of Bone Morphometry (ISBM) was founded in 1973, and incorporated as a non-profit organization in 1996.  The mission of ISBM is to emphasize the importance of traditional morphometric techniques in the field of bone research, to embrace new technologies that result in refinements and advances in bone morphometric analyses, and to facilitate the education and training of basic scientists and clinicians in all aspects of bone morphometry.

Since 1973, ISBM has held 11 Congresses at 3-4 year intervals.  Our most recent Congress in Zell am See, Austria, expertly organized by Past President Reinhold Erben, was highly successful.  The practical training session, with demonstrations of sectioning and sawing undecalcified bone, microCT analyses, and identification of bone cells and fluorochrome labels in histologic sections, was very well received.  In view of this positive experience, we presented a tutorial on bone histomorphometry in rodent models as part of the ancillary program for the 2010 ASBMR meeting in Toronto.  This tutorial was also well received, and we plan to host similar events in conjunction with future ASBMR or ECTS meetings. 

Our next meeting, the XIIth Congress of the Society, will be held October 16-19, 2012 at the Sheraton Minneapolis West Hotel immediately after the ASBMR meeting.  Planning for this Congress is nearing completion.  The invited speakers include Drs. Robert Recker (keynote address), Roland Baron, Mary Bouxsein, David Burr, David Dempster, Laurie McCauley, Regis O'Keefe, David Rowe, and Rick Sumner. 

In the meantime, a Members Only section has been added to the ISBM web site. This section contains methods for various aspects of bone histomorphometry and an image gallery of important features of bone. Please take advantage of this membership benefit to become more knowledgeable and improve the quality of your bone morphometric techniques.

Thomas J. Wronski, Ph.D.
President