The Bone and Mineral Metabolism Program encompasses basic and clinical research on the hormonal regulation of bone and mineral metabolism in health and disease. Specific areas of support include (1) endocrine aspects of disorders affecting bone, including osteoporosis, Paget's disease, renal osteodystrophy, and hypercalcemia of malignancy; (2) pathogenesis, diagnosis, and therapy of parathyroid disorders, including primary or secondary hyperparathyroidism; (3) effects of parathyroid hormone (PTH), parathyroid hormone related protein (PTHrP), calcitonin, vitamin D, estrogen, retinoic acid, growth factors (e.g. IGF-I, etc.), glucocorticoids, thyroid hormone, and other systemic or local-acting hormones and their receptors on bone metabolism; (4) bone active cytokines (e.g. TGF-b, BMPs, CSF-1); (5) studies of calcium homeostasis, absorption, metabolism, and excretion, including the calcium activated receptor (CaR); (6) basic and clinical studies of vitamin D; and (7) bone morphogenesis, including the roles of developmental factors in bone formation (e.g. hedgehogs, Hox genes).
For more information, contact Dr. Saul Malozowski, Senior Advisor for Endocrine Physiology.