ASBMR Fund for Research and Education Research Grantees

In 2017, the ASBMR Fund for Research and Education established the Fund for Research and Education Research Grant. The Fund was able to award three research grants to three investigators to help them achieve more training and/or further enhance their research projects. Read below to learn how these grants, made possible by the generosity of ASBMR donors, are helping these young scientists make strides in the bone, mineral and musculoskeletal field.

In 2021, The ASBMR Fund for Research and Education and the ASBMR Early Stage Investigator Subcommittee joined forces to include collaborations for the grant program. The new name of the grant program is the ASBMR Fund for Research and Education Research and Collaborative Grant Program. 

2021 Recipients

• Ahmed Mohan Al Saedi, Ph.D., University of Melbourne, Australia - Learn a new technique
• Julián Balanta-Melo, Ph.D., Indiana University School of Medicine, USA - Learn a new technique
• Ushashi Dadwal, Ph.D., Indiana University School of Medicine, USA - Foster a collaboration
• Randee Hunter, Ph.D., Ohio State University, USA - Foster a collaboration
• Zhaoyang Liu, Ph.D., University of Texas at Austin, USA - Learn a new technique
• Maria Materozzi, Ph.D., Vita Salute San Raffaele University, Italy - Foster a collaboration

2020 Recipients

"The ASBMR Fund for Research and Education provides valuable resources for promising young researchers. An ASBMR award could be the difference that leads someone to a successful career in bone research. During these unprecedented times, early career researchers face more uncertainty about the future than ever before. Your donation will help ensure we have a strong and healthy field of young researchers to build on the progress we have all made in bone research so far. Thank you for your support!"- Michael A. Friedman, Ph.D., Virginia Commonwealth University

Research Project: Understanding the effects of aging on cellular mechanisms of bone mechanotransduction

"Like many of my colleagues, the necessary COVID-19 restrictions limiting research at our hospitals and universities has resulted in paused or modified research practices. As a young scientist this can be very challenging, but also an opportunity to be creative and develop new great ideas! The support from ASBMR and their commitment to training has been instrumental for my growth as a scientist. While other funding sources have disappeared in this unprecedented time, the continuation of the ASBMR Fund for Research and Education is essential for supporting innovative and creative ideas that can develop out of our new “normal”. - Stephanie N. Moore, Ph.D., Vanderbilt University Medical Center

Research Project: Learn whole-transcriptomic sequencing (RNA-Seq) of injured muscle susceptible to developing heterotopic ossification (HO)

"I consider the ASBMR Fund for Research and Education Grant represents a unique opportunity that will allow me to continue my training in bone histomorphometric analysis to help patients with chronic kidney disease bone disease, since this technique is not available in my country. This grant represents a milestone in my career, allowing me to develop as a researcher without the need to pause my personal and professional projects to study abroad for long periods. Funding and networking opportunities provided by this grant are exceptional, especially for researchers living in developing countries. "

-Betiana Mabel Perez. M.D., Universitary Institute of Italian Hospital of Buenos Aires

Research Project: Mechanical stimulation by whole body vibration in an Chronic Kidney Disease Bone and
Mineral Disorder model in Wistar rats

2019 Recipients

"As a recipient of ASBMR Fund for Research and Education, I am very grateful to the ASBMR for providing me indeed a great opportunity. This fund is helpful for me to attend the bone and vascular biology workshops and obtaining excellent pieces of training on very novel high-end techniques that required to accomplish my dream project successfully.  Also, this fund is helpful for me to attend important symposiums in my research field, which facilitates fruitful networking and collaboration worldwide. Definitely, this fund from ASBMR is very encouraging and provides an excellent platform for early-stage researchers like me for our career development." ---Flavia Amadeu de Oliveira, Ph.D., Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute; Research Project: Studies to determine the risk of mineral-targeted alkaline phosphatase treatment on cardiovascular function using mouse models of adult hypophosphatasia displaying vascular calcification as co-morbidity

Flavia Amadeu de Oliveira, Ph.D.

"I am pleased and delighted for being the recipient of ASBMR Fund for Research and Education Research Grant 2019. I am currently investigating the molecular targets driving osteosarcoma metastasis, focusing specifically on FGFR and mTOR signalling.  My work has so far demonstrated that small molecule inhibition of these pathways could serve as a potential therapy for inhibiting metastasis in osteosarcoma patients.  The transcriptional and biochemical mechanisms underlying this effect are not known and therefore this award will help me to take a global approach through analysing and bridging together large genomic and proteomic data sets. Well-established training courses will provide me with additional expertise which I will be using for current and future research projects with a liberty to analyse data based on my independent biological questions. This award will be used in part to obtain bulk RNA-seq and proteomic data of tumour cells excised from different osteosarcoma tumour models with different metastatic potentials, which will add valuable insights into the mechanisms of metastasis leading to novel targeted therapies. Importantly, I will have the opportunity to collaborate with different labs to gain the necessary advice and training which will enhance my knowledge and networking skills. Overall, this award will support me in gaining additional expertise, and to provide essential training, networking, and publication of high-impact research articles that will enhance my CV and help me obtain future funding and positions.  I am grateful to the ASBMR for the opportunity to carry out these studies and enhance my career progression."--Arshiya Banu, Ph.D., Grigoriadis Lab, King's College London; Research Project: Identification of novel drivers of osteosarcoma metastasis 

Arshiya Banu, Ph.D.

"I am immensely grateful and honored to have received the ASBMR Fund for Research and Education Research Grant. This award has paved the way for new translational work in the field of bone using the up and coming zebrafish model. It has also provided an excellent opportunity for myself as an early career investigator to strengthen ongoing collaborations, gain new knowledge and expertise, enhance networking possibilities, and give visibility to the research."--Melissa Formosa, Ph.D., University of Malta, Research Project: Zebrafish as an animal model in human osteoporosis research

Melissa Formosa, Ph.D.

2018 Recipients

"The impact of this Fund is very critical because not only does it help facilitate networking, but it also helps facilitate the collaborations especially for early state career individuals like myself. That is essential because you are trying to build these professional relationships to support a long research career"  - - Amy Y. Sato, Ph.D., Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Indiana University School of Medicine; Research Project: Training in novel techniques to evaluate muscle fiber composition and metabolism

Amy Y. Sato, Ph.D.

Xiaoyu Tong, M.D., Ph.D.. Kuopio Musculoskeletal Research Unit, Research Project: "Application of Quantitative Bone Histomorphometry and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopic Imaging in Examination of Metabolic Bone Disorders."

Daniel Graham Whitney, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Research Fellow, University of Michigan, Research Project: "Destermine effects of bone marrow secretome from children with CP on osteoblast differentiation."

2017 Recipients

"I am profoundly grateful and honored to have received the New ASBMR Fund for Research and Education Research Award. Such a prestigious award is invaluable at this stage of my scientific career and inspires me to further research in the field. This is a wonderful opportunity not only to advance and broaden my knowledge and skills as a scientist, but also provides unsurpassable networking possibilities for the future. I am looking forward with eagerness to making the most out of this opportunity and to participating in the next ASBMR event."  - - Jessica Alm, Ph.D., Karolinska Institutet, Research Team on Metabolic Bone Diseases, Department of Clinical Genetics, Center of Molecular Medicine and Surgery, Sweden; Cellular manifestation of gene defects leading to osteoporosis – Functional characterization of the skeletal cell compartment

Jessica Alm, Ph.D.

"Thank you to the ASBMR Research Fund for providing me with the opportunity to travel to Imperial College, London to learn the methods of quantitative backscattered electron scanning microscopy (qBSEM) and Faxitron digital x-ray micro radiographic analysis. These unique high throughput methods were developed in the laboratories of Professor Duncan Bassett and Professor Graham Williams to examine mineral distribution in bone by capturing high resolution and high magnification images. With this opportunity, I will be able to apply both methods to my main model of research, in an effort to develop a technique allowing direct comparison of mineralisation levels detected by high resolution BSEM and Faxitron imaging with synchrotron-based Fourier Transform Infrared Microscopy methods of bone composition, a technique that I have developed during my graduate work. Combining these techniques will identify how calcium content, bone density and bone composition relate to each other in healthy and fragile bones." - - Christina Vrahnas, Ph.D., St. Vincent’s Institute of Medical Research, Australia; High throughput methods for quantitative backscattered electron scanning microscopy (qBSEM) and Faxitron digital x-ray micro radiographic analysis to examine mineral distribution in bone

Christina Vrahnas, Ph.D.