Masaki Noda, M.D., Ph.D.
President
Tokyo Medical and Dental University,
Tokyo, Japan

May 2, 2014

The International Society of Bone Morphometry (ISBM) was founded in 1973, and incorporated as a non-profit organization in 1996. The mission of ISBM is to emphasize the importance of traditional morphometric techniques in the field of bone research, to embrace new 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. Bone morphometry is also essential for skeletal phenotyping of knockout and transgenic mice. Recent rapid advances in human bone imaging are emphasizing the importance of bone morphometry as a tool for patient evaluation and monitoring drug efficacy in clinical practice.

Since 1973, ISBM has held 12 Congresses at 3-4 year intervals. Our most recent Congress in Minneapolis, MN, USA, expertly organized by Past President Tom Wronski, was highly successful. The scientific sessions were outstanding, and the social program was most enjoyable. The practical training session, with demonstrations on sectioning undecalcified bone with a microtome, microCT analyses, and identification of bone cells and fluorochrome labels in histologic sections, was very well received. In view of this positive experience, we plan to continue our commitment to presenting training sessions on bone morphometry in future meetings.

Our next meeting, the XIIIth Congress of the Society, is　scheduled for April 27-29, 2015 in Tokyo, Japan. We are in the very early stages of planning this Congress. ISBM members are encouraged to contact us with suggestions for research topics to be included in the program.

In the meantime, please consider joining or renewing your membership in ISBM. This will allow access to a Members Only section of the ISBM web site, which contains methods for various aspects of bone histomorphometry and an image gallery of bone structural and cellular features. The ISBM web site serves as a unique resource for graduate students, postdocs, and young and senior scientists for innovation in human clinical research based on a merging of molecular biology, preclinical and clinical pathophysiology, and future development of bone-active drugs. Please take advantage of ISBM membership to become more knowledgeable and improve the quality of your bone morphometric techniques.

Masaki Noda, M.D., Ph.D.
President