Vanderbilt Center For Bone Biology

Changes to the bone matrix that occur during aging may point to novel targets for treating osteoporosis. Read More

New findings could explain the link between chronic stress and reduced survival in women diagnosed with breast cancer, and could lead to new strategies to improve treatment outcomes. Read More

Mustafa Unal, Ph.D., a postdoctoral research fellow at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, has been selected by the Orthopedic Research Society to receive its 2017 Alice L. Jee Young Investigator Award for work that potentially will improve the clinical assessment of bone strength and quality. Read More

Medical studies have established that people with type 2 diabetes are more susceptible to fractures, but the biological process that weakens their bones is not understood. Read More

The elasticity of a scaffold used for healing skin wounds is a key factor in promoting regeneration versus scarring. Read More

New findings show that fibrin, a protein that was thought to play a key role in fracture healing, is not required, shifting understanding of how fractures heal. Read More

The rigidity of the bone extracellular matrix increases the ability of tumor cells to destroy bone, suggesting new targets for anticancer drug development. Read More

The protein neurofibromin acts as a brake in a signaling pathway that is important in bone development, Vanderbilt researchers have discovered. Read More

Alterations of the vestibular system - the part of our inner ear that controls balance - may contribute to bone loss related to both aging and space travel. Read More

Jim Cassat, M.D., Ph.D., a pediatric infectious disease specialist who joined the Vanderbilt faculty this summer, loves taking care of children with bone infections and doing research to understand the host-pathogen interactions during these invasive infections. Read More

A combination treatment delivered to the site of fractures may improve bone healing in patients with the genetic disease neurofibromatosis type-1. Read More

A subpopulation of bone cancer cells may be responsible for driving clinically aggressive behavior, suggesting new treatment options. Read More

An enzyme therapy may prevent skeletal abnormalities associated with the genetic disorder neurofibromatosis type-1, Vanderbilt investigators have discovered. Read More

The factor ATF4 has a role in the toughness of bone and its resistance to fracture, suggesting new therapeutic targets. Read More

Removal of the neurotransmitter norepinephrine from the space outside cells plays an important role in the regulation of bone remodeling. Read More

Insight into how the protein neurofibromin participates in the signaling pathway that produces the body’s long bones has implications for fracture healing in some patients. Read More

Osteomyelitis, a debilitating bone infection most frequently caused by Staphylococcus aureus (“staph”) bacteria, is particularly challenging to treat. Read More

The inner ear system that senses gravity and movement plays a role in bone remodeling – a finding that has clinical implications for space travel and for patients with inner ear disorders. Read More

A gene associated with long life participates in the normal regulation of bone remodeling and may have a role in bone loss associated with aging. Read More

Stress can promote breast cancer cell colonization of bone, Vanderbilt Center for Bone Biology investigators have discovered. Read More