Bone health has become an increasingly prominent aspect of our wellbeing over the years, and it’s now clear that bone metabolism and skeletal alterations are affected and can affect several pathological conditions, with a high impact on both individual and public health. Such scientific interest and clinical relevance brought together Italian experts from various specialties to form the national society for bone research, SIOMMMS.
SIOMMMS (Società Italiana dell’Osteoporosi, del Metabolismo Minerale e delle Malattie dello Scheletro – “Italian Society for Osteoporosis, Mineral Metabolism and Skeletal Diseases”) is the prominent scientific society in Italy regarding all mineral and bone disorders.
SIOMMMS comprises of more than 800 members and represents the point of reference for scientific and clinical issues/questions/guidelines concerning all aspects of bone metabolism. Born in 2000 with the fusion of the Italian Society for Mineral Metabolism (SIMM) and the Italian society of Osteoporosis (SIOP), for many years SIOMMMS comprised mainly clinicians and then started to expand to all aspects of research and its members now have diverse professional experience including basic researchers. The current president is Prof. Iacopo Chiodini, in charge until 2023 with Prof. Bruno Frediani as President Elect. The society organizes annual National Conferences, regional meetings, advanced courses and webinars, to integrate specialties, spread awareness, offer confrontations and overall promote knowledge regarding bone health.
In 2017 four young SIOMMMS members founded YES (Young Edition SIOMMMS) with the aim to promote initiatives for young investigators working in the bone field in Italy. YES members have been active in the organization of the annual meeting, evaluation of the poster presentations and other activities such as debates on clinical cases. Moreover, two YES members are in charge of the “SIOMMMS-INFORMA” newsletter, that creates short articles on focused scientific topics of interest. YES gradually created a network interconnecting young members with each other and with the society.
In 2021, due to the growing participation of young researchers in the society activities, SIOMMMS created the Young Committee, that has now become a permanent committee of the society. The Young Committee (Commissione Giovani) is currently formed by 9 young professionals (figure below) under the age of 40, with experience on clinical and/or basic research.
Through the organization of scientific, educational and social opportunities for young members, and the collaboration with other Committees of SIOMMMS and other scientific societies, the Young Committee oversees, supports and develops all activities and initiatives for and from YES.
The Committee is involved in the actualization of the National Conference, for example organizing specific sessions held by young professionals with different specialties (geriatricians, biologists, endocrinologists, nutritionists, physical therapists) interconnecting their areas of expertise on a particular subject of interest in the bone field. Together with the Formation and Education Committee, the Young Committee supports and participates in the creation of the webinar series broadcasted to all members, concerning topics of importance for our scientific community.
Although very recently instituted, the Young Committee aims at driving SIOMMMS YES forward with creativity, networking, internationality, and nurture the fresh perspective of young scientists into the society’s life.
