The Dutch Bone and Mineral Society (Nederlandse Vereniging voor Calcium en Botstofwisseling, NVCB, http://www.nvcb.nl ) was founded in 1990 by Professor Huib Pols, dr. Els Burger and dr. Sijmen Duursma (first board). They participated in an advisory group for fundamental medical research grants from the former Dutch Scientific organization (ZWO- FUNGO) and felt the need to further discuss fundamental research on calcium and bone metabolism. Since the foundation, the society was run by 8 different chairs, 7 secretaries and 6 treasurers. At this moment the board of the NVCB consists of dr Natasha Appelman-Dijkstra, internist-endocrinologist LUMC (chair), dr Nathalie Bravenboer, biomedical scientist, VUMC/LUMC (treasurer) and dr Astrid Bakker, cell biologist, ACTA (Secretary.)
The Society’s main goal is the promotion of science related to bone and calcium research. Therefore the Society has always made an effort to reach out to both clinicians as well as basic scientists. To date, the Society has 74 members from several disciplines s.a Internal Medicine, Rheumatology, Orthopedics, Geriatrics, Dentistry, Genetics, epidemiology, cell biology, and biomechanics, but all with a main interest in the bone field. The NVCB aims to connect clinicians and basic scientist by means of our yearly meeting in the fall in a casual atmosphere. During each meeting, several keynote lecturers are presented by internationally recognized experts but the fall meeting also provides a platform for young upcoming scientists/clinicians to present their work and enables the establishment of (new) collaborations, nationally as well as internationally. For instance, in 2019, the NVCB will hold its fall meeting in Athens together with the Hellenic Society for bone metabolism.
In order to encourage young investigators in the bone field, the NVCB awards prizes every two years for best thesis and best article and has a yearly price for the best young presenter. These prizes are awarded during the fall meeting in November. Moreover, the NVCB sponsors travel grants for our junior members who can present their work abroad and contributes to thesis printing for PhD students. Although the NVCB has a very strong scientific background, the society has established more clinical connections over the past few years with the Dutch Society for Endocrinology. The relation with the ECTS is also very strong since several NVCB members fulfill tasks within the ECTS.