ECTS Philippe Bordier Clinical Award

Franz Jakob is a pioneer of the field of musculosceletal research. He researched the entire spectrum from basic science toclinical studies, translational research at its best, spanning basic research, including work on zebrafish, translation and clinicalapplication. He published already in 2001 on tumor-induced osteomalacia (25) before the clinical picture familiar even to bonespecialists. His in-vitro work in mesenchymal tissue regeneration and mesenchymal stem cell aging led him to translationalstudies in osteoporosis patients. His basic research work always helped him to ask and to answer important clinical questions.He established a clinical study group and initiated a number of investigator initiated clinical studies. He directed a pioneeringsingle centre phase IIa study on anti-sclerostic treatment of HPP, which he published as senior author in 2017 in the Journal ofClinical Investigation (19) and took part in a number of international studies (20). He also started investigating and publishingon rare bone disorders already 20 years ago, long before this field became so popular in recent years. With a focus onhypophosphatasia (HPP) between 2009 and 2020 Franz Jakob published 21 full peer reviewed papers on this disorder,contributing also to the HPP review. In Würzburg he built an interdisciplinary team to investigate HPP in patients, both childrenand adults, and investigating the genetic and epigenetic background and laboratory markers. He is also interested in thepathogenesis of multiple myeloma and metastasis in cancer, where he was one of the authors of a leading review in this field(11). To be able to study the effect of locomotion on the musculoskeletal system he initiated the founding of the Bernhard-Heine-Center for Locomotion resulting in a number of publications in this area. It is characteristic for him, that he alwaysprovides his broad knowledge also in projects of colleagues and collaborative research projects. He also shares hisknowledge with the musculoskeletal community by regular invited lectures during the German Osteology Meeting, the GermanCongress of Endocrinology and Orthopedic Meetings. For many years Franz Jakob has continuously demonstrated strongcommitment to ECTS. He has been the elected representative of Germany to the ECTS and in 2010 he became electedSpokesman of the German Network on Hypophosphatasia. Franz Jakob co-authored the ECTS review on HPP first-authoredby Maria Luisa Bianchi in 2020. He was invited lecturer at ECTS Annual Congresses, e.g. presenting the clinical update Whatis New in Valencia 2018 and of course he has been an ECTS congress regular along with many members of his team. Twoinvestigators from his group, Christine Hofmann and Lothar Seefried now have become leaders in this area, on pediatric andadult HPP, respectively. It is very characteristic of his work that he mentored the next generation of researchers and helpedthem to build a career in basic science and/or as clinician scientist in the musculoskeletal field. In summary, Franz Jakob isboth an outstanding researcher and a role model for next generation bone researchers.