Office Bearers and Council
PRESIDENT
Professor Mark Forwood |
Griffith University Gold Coast Professor Forwood was appointed as the Foundation Chair of Anatomy at Griffith University in 2009, and Head, School of Medical Science from 2013 to 2021. His laboratory studies skeletal adaptation, mechanotransduction and bone quality, funded by grants from National Health and Medical Research Council since 1996. He was a NHMRC Fellow at Indiana University with David Burr and Charles Turner at IUPUI from 1991-1994. Following his Fellowship, Prof Forwood returned to the The University of Queensland, where he continued his research in skeletal biology and taught gross and musculoskeletal anatomy. Mark was first elected to ANZBMS Council in 1997 and became Treasurer from 1999-2005. He has been a member of the Board of Directors of the International Federation of Musculoskeletal Research Societies since 2017 and Chair of the IFMRS International Education Working Group. He is on the Editorial Board of Bone and was a section editor for Current Osteoporosis Reports. In 2016, he was elected as a Fellow of the Queensland Academy of Arts and Sciences, and in 2019 a Fellow of the ASBMR. |
TREASURER
Associate Professor Rachel Davey
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Associate Professor Rachel A Davey, PhD Associate Professor Rachel Davey completed her PhD in Physiology at The University of Adelaide in 1998, studying the effects of estrogens and androgens on bone cell metabolism. Associate Professor Davey is currently Head of the Molecular Endocrinology and Musculoskeletal Research Group in the Department of Medicine, Austin Health at the University of Melbourne. Associate Professor Davey’s research focusses on the cellular and molecular pathways through which hormones act in the musculoskeletal system with a particular focus on androgens and calcitonin. She has over 50 publications spanning areas of bone and muscle biology and metabolism. In recognition of her research and teaching achievements, she was the first Australian to be awarded the American Society of Bone and Mineral Research Early Career Teaching Award (2008), the inaugural recipient of the Endocrine Society of Australia Mid-Career Award (2009) and the recipient of an ANZBMS mid-career fellowship in 2017. Scientific Involvement (selected):
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HONORARY SECRETARY
Professor Mark Cooper |
University of Sydney, Anzac Research Institute Mark Cooper is Prof of Medicine and Head of Medicine at the Concord Clinical School, University of Sydney. He heads the Adrenal Steroid Lab at the ANZAC Research Institute. Until 2012 he was a Senior Lecturer at the University of Birmingham, UK. and metabolic bone physician at the Royal Orthopaedic Hospital, one of the largest orthopaedic hospitals in Europe. His clinical and research interests include adrenal steroid physiology and metabolic bone disease. In particular, he examines the role that glucocorticoid metabolism plays in normal physiology, inflammatory arthritis and glucocorticoid induced osteoporosis. He was previously the Bertram Abraham’s Lecturer in Physiology at the Royal College of Physicians of London. He has served on committees for the ASBMR and ECTS. He continues to combine a clinical practice with a basic/translational research group. |
PRESIDENT-ELECT
Prof. Gustavo Duque MD, PhD, FRACP, FGSA |
Prof. Gustavo Duque MD, PhD, FRACP, FGSA MELBOURNE MEDICAL SCHOOL, THE UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE Prof. Gustavo Duque MD, PhD, FRACP, FGSA is a geriatrician and a clinical and biomedical researcher with special interest in the mechanisms and treatment of osteoporosis, sarcopenia and frailty in older persons. His initial training included Internal Medicine at Javeriana University (Colombia) and Geriatric Medicine, which he completed at McGill University in Montreal (Canada). Subsequently, he obtained his PhD at McGill University in 2003 with a thesis entitled ‘Molecular Changes of the Aging Osteoblast’ under the supervision of Dr. Richard Kremer. Prof. Duque's major research interests include the elucidation of the mechanisms and potential new treatments for age-related bone loss, osteoporosis, sarcopenia and frailty. He is also looking at the effect of vitamin D, exercise and proteins on bone and muscle mass. He is currently Chair of Medicine and Director of the Australian Institute for Musculoskeletal Science (AIMSS) at the University of Melbourne and Western Health. He is also Director of the Fracture Care and Prevention Program at Western Health (Melbourne). As part of this Program, Prof. Duque implemented a Falls and Fractures clinic at Sunshine Hospital where patients are assessed for falls and fractures risk in a comprehensive manner.
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PAST-PRESIDENT
Professor Natalie Sims
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St Vincents' Institute Deputy Director, St. Vincent’s Institute, Melbourne, Australia Prof. Natalie Sims directs the Bone Cell Biology and Disease Unit at St. Vincent’s |
COUNCIL MEMBERS
Dr Melissa Cantley PhD |
NHMRC Early Career Research Fellow | Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences Dr Melissa Cantley completed her PhD in 2013 at the University of Adelaide with a project focussed on pathological bone remodelling. In 2014 Melissa was awarded a NHMRC Early Career Fellowship to work with Professor Zannettino in the Myeloma Research Laboratory at the University of Adelaide, located at the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI). Dr Cantley’s research interests revolve around bone cell biology and role of the complex bone microenvironment in disease. This has included in chronic inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and periodontitis where she has made significant research contributions in therapeutic targeting of pathogenic bone loss. Dr Cantley's current research is focussed on the blood cancer multiple myeloma and understanding the progression from pre-cancerous stages to cancerous myeloma. This involves unravelling the role of the complex bone marrow microenvironment in disease progression and discovering novel biomarkers that can be used to predict risk of progression in patients with the pre-cancerous stages of disease. Dr Cantley has been Co-Chair of the ANZBMS Early Career Investigator Committee (ECIC) over the last two years and was a member of the Inaugural ANZBMS Early Career Investigator Newsletter Editorial Board (2019-2021). Dr Cantley has also been a member of the ANZBMS Program Organising Committee (POC) (2020-2021). Dr Cantley is a Director on the Australian Society for Medical Research (ASMR) National Board. |
Assoc Professor Cherie Chiang |
MBBS (Hons) FRACP FRCPA MAACB MD Endocrinologist & Stream Leader Endocrine Chemical Pathology, Department of Diabetes and Endocrinology, Royal Melbourne Hospital. Chemical Pathologist, Department of Pathology, Royal Melbourne Hospital. Endocrinologist, Austin Hospital & Peter MacCallum cancer Centre Honorary Senior Fellow, The University of Melbourne P: Department of Pathology, Royal Melbourne Hospital, Parkville VIC 3050. T: + 613 93427000 F: + 613 93427360 E: cherie.chiang@mh.org.au Dr Chiang graduated with honours from Monash University. She completed her membership examination for Australasian Association of Clinical Biochemists in 2006 and her dual fellowships in FRACP and FRCPA in 2008. She was the recipient of the ASBMR Young Investigator Award in 2015. She completed her Doctor of Medicine (University of Melbourne) Doctorate by Research in 2018 on The Role of Androgens Acting via the Androgen Receptor in Osteoblasts to Regulate Bone Cell Metabolism. Her research interests and publications include Bone Turnover Markers, Vitamin D, bone microarchitecture and Atypical Femoral Fractures. She has broad clinical experience in management of skeletal disease in cancer, setting up of Fracture Liaison Service, and Bone Densitometry reporting. She is a RCPA examiner and the chair of the Harmonisation of Endocrine Dynamic Testing Working Party. |
Assoc Professor Dawn Coates |
Faculty of Dentistry | Te Kaupeka Pūniho |
A/Professor Josh Lewis |
Edith Cowan University 270 Joondalup Drive Perth, WA Email: joshua.lewis@ecu.edu.au Josh is a National Heart Foundation Future Leader Fellow at Edith Cowan University and the research program lead for the newly formed Institute for Nutrition Research. Josh leads the Perth Longitudinal Study of Ageing Women and the disorders of mineralisation research group with a focus on the shared epidemiology of osteoporosis and cardiovascular disease. His vascular-musculoskeletal research program spans basic, clinical and translational fields and includes genetics, biomarkers as well as modifiable lifestyle factors. This research seeks to identify individuals with clinically unrecognised disease so that early nutritional and lifestyle intervention can be implemented to prevent the onset of clinical disease. |
Dr Michelle McDonald |
Garvan Institute 384 Victoria St
Dr Michelle McDonald’s research careers spans over 19 years, attaining her PhD in 2008. She is currently Group Leader of the Bone Microenvironment Group at The Garvan Institute, Sydney, Australia. Through the development of a novel intravital imaging technique her research has allowed, visualisation and fate tracking of dormant and actively growing tumour cells within living bone, as well as visualisation of bone cells in real time. This approach has revealed previously unappreciated bone osteoclast dynamics, and uncovering mechanisms behind unexpected clinical responses to anti-resorptive therapies, which was recently accepted in Cell. Combined with her experience using therapeutic agents to modulate bone cell activity, her group is working to define how these agents can be repurposed to prevent tumour-induced bone destruction and prevent tumour growth through regulating the bone micro-environment. Michelle regularly perform peer reviews, sits on the editorial boards and holds positions on international scientific committees. |