BONE AND MINERAL PHYSIOLOGY IN HEALTH AND DISEASE

Osteoporosis and other bone diseases such as osteomalacia are significant causes of morbidity and mortality, and will of increasing importance as the population in United States and Europe ages. These diseases are due to abnormal calcium and phosphate metabolism and understanding how the concentrations of such ions are regulated and how bone and mineral homeostasis is regulated is central to the prevention of these diseases. The laboratory is interested in understanding how calcium and phosphate homeostasis in mammals is regulated and how it is altered in disease states. Several lines of investigation are being pursued: