Thomas Levin Andersen, Ph.D.
President, ISBM
Associate Professor
Dept. of Clinical Research, University of Southern Denmark
Dept. of Pathology, Odense University Hospital
Dept. of Forensic Medicine, Aarhus University
Denmark
April 11, 2020
Welcome to the web site of The International Society of Bone Morphometry (ISBM). Please help us make this a living and evolving society so that we can help advance the field of bone morphometry. By becoming a member, you have direct access to protocols, images, webinars, and expert training in the field. This is increasingly important, as many studies are showing bone phenotypes for genes not thought to directly affect the skeletal system. Take advantage of the expertise offered by our society!
Bone morphometry is often an essential means to investigate skeletal physiology and pathology, and to assess their regulation by various factors. ISBM takes a global view of bone morphometry, including advances in imaging and bone histology, as well as all aspects of the musculoskeletal system.
ISBM was founded in 1973, and incorporated as a non-profit organization in 1996. The mission of ISBM is to emphasize the importance and development of classical morphometric techniques in the field of bone research, to embrace new knowledge and 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. Many preclinical and clinical studies utilize bone morphometry as an essential technique to assess changes in bone structure and function in response to a variety of influences such as hormones, cytokines, growth factors, mechanical loading, and bone-active drugs. Very importantly, bone morphometry is critical for skeletal phenotyping of knockout and transgenic mice. Current progress in the technology of genome editing such as CRISPR/Cas9 and transcriptomics such as single-cell transcriptomics further increases the demand for bone morphometry to understand the functions and spatial location of molecules and defined cell populations in vivo. Rapid advances in human bone imaging such as HR-pQCT are emphasizing the importance of bone morphometry as a tool for patient evaluation and monitoring drug efficacy in clinical practice. In addition, the basic principles for performing bone morphometry and some of its techniques, such as histology and µCT, can now be extended to the study of other skeletal tissues such as articular cartilage and the bone marrow cavity for evaluating adiposity, vascularity, and innervation.
Last year we held the XIVth Congress of the Society on September 23-26, 2019 in Orlando, Florida, USA, immediately after the ASBMR meeting. This congress was highly successful in exchanging new scientific information, technological advances, and provocative ideas and thoughts. ISBM not only serves to educate and instruct young scientists in skills and technologies, but also promotes the value and excitement of morphology in the field of skeletal biology and pathology. Our XVth ISBM Congress is tentatively scheduled to be held in Odense, Denmark, in the late spring or early summer of 2022. I very much look forward to seeing all of you at the next congress.
Best wishes,
Thomas Levin Andersen