The European Calcified Tissue Society is highly committed in recognizing scientific excellence in the field of bone and mineral metabolism. Indeed, also this year, during the 50th Annual Meeting of the European Calcified Tissue Society, to be held in Liverpool from 15 to 18 April, there will be a ceremony to award five distinguished scientists.
ECTS Iain T Boyle Award
Professor Iain T Boyle made significant contributions to the field of mineral metabolism and osteoporosis. The award is given to young scientists who have made significant progress and contribution to the field of bone and calcified tissue. The 2023 awardee is Petar Milovanovic. He is Professor at University of Belgrade. His research has focused on various aspects of bone structure and their relevance for maintenance of bone strength. He also contributed to the quantification and ultrastructural/compositional evaluation of micropetrosis.
ECTS Steven Boonen Clinical Research Award
This award is dedicated to Steven Boonen, a translational and clinical researcher with a focus on age-related skeletal fragility. The award is given to physicians who have made significant progress and contribution to the field of clinical bone research. This year Piet Geusens has been awarded. He is Professor Emeritus of Rheumatology at Maastricht University Medical Center. His research has focused on many aspects of osteoporosis and on the involvement of the skeleton in patients with rheumatologic diseases.
ECTS-Kyowa Kirin Maria Luisa Bianchi Clinical Research Award
This is a new award in memory of Professor Maria Luisa Bianchi, highly committed to clinical research who dedicated her scientific life to the study of rare bone diseases. Prof. Martine Cohen-Solal is this year recipient. She is Professor of cell biology at the University Paris-Diderot and rheumatologist at Lariboisiere Hospital in Paris. She made significant contributions in the field of rare bone diseases as well as in epidemiology of fractures, bone microarchitecture and bone and joint crosstalk in osteoarthritis.
ECTS Philippe Bordier Clinical Award
This award is in honour of Philippe Bordier that contributed significantly to the bone field by developing bone histomorphometry, which he applied to the analysis of several bone diseases. The ECTS Philippe Bordier Clinical Award is given to individuals who have made a significant clinical contribution to the field of bone and calcified tissue. In 2023 the price is awarded to Carola Zilllikens. She is Professor at the Erasmus Medical Centre in Rotterdam. Her main research topics concern the genetic background of unexplained familial osteoporosis, rare disorders of calcium, phosphate and bone metabolism.
ECTS Mike Horton Basic/Translational Award
This award honours Mike Horton, a haematologist who performed pioneering work in osteoclast research. The award is given to individuals who have made a significant basic or translational contribution to the field of bone and calcified tissue. The recipient of the 2023 award is Claire Edwards. She is Associate Professor of Bone Oncology at NDS and NDORMS, University of Oxford, UK. She focused her career on a better understanding of skeletal malignancies, investigating not only the characteristics of tumour cells in the bone, but also the specificities of the bone microenvironment and the importance of the interaction between microenvironment and tumour cells.