Members of the Skeletal Biology Group at the Royal Veterinary College (RVC), London led by Prof Andrew Pitsillides have made significant advances using support from the ImagingBioPro Network. They have presented their work showing that distinct architectural components of a single bone behave modularly, with distinct temporal trajectories, in response to unloading/ disuse at the virtual meeting of the Bone Research Society 2021; relevant from astronauts to patients that have to endure prolonged bedrest. They have also given a GEMSTONE Digital Masterclass at the European Calcified Tissue Society, 2021 on Joint Biomechanics with relevance to Osteoarthritis. This plenary lecture exploited a strong imaging focus to explore the mechanical interplay across the joint’s osteochondral junction at a range of scales. The support from the ImagingBioPro Network has additionally helped them to publish an article in which they report new advances in the experimental study of bone fracture resistance, by examining with both imaging and mechanical methods two different approaches to study femoral neck strength in a manner that potentially reveals greater physiological and clinical relevance.

Related talks and publication:

• Monzem S, Gohin S, Ballester RY, Souza RL, Meeson R, Pitsillides AA. (2021) An examination of two different approaches for the study of femoral neck fracture: towards a more relevant rodent model. Bone Rep. 15: 101116. doi: 10.1016/j.bonr.2021.101116.

• Pitsillides AA. ECTS-GEMSTONE Digital Masterclass, 24 – 27 August 2021. Osteoarthritis – Biomechanics: Mechanical interplay across the osteochondral junction.

• Monzem S, Javaheri J, de Souza RL, Pitsillides AA. Disuse-related cortical bone loss exhibits delayed onset yet stabilises more rapidly than trabecular bone Bone Research Society Meeting 2021.