The lads jetted off to sunny Girona for the European Calcified Tissue Society Congress, where they caught up with some brilliant boneheads about the latest in bone research. In Part 1, we chat to Louise Thomas about bone marrow fat and bone health, Bram van der Eerden about new bone model technologies that could help replace animals in research, Victoria Chatzimavridou about radiotherapy and insufficiency fractures, and Jelena Jadzic about her prize-winning work on alcohol-associated liver disease and vertebral fractures.

The lads sit down with Prof Neil Gittoes to discuss SCOOP (Screening in the Community to Reduce Osteoporotic Fractures). The study was a large UK trial (12,483 women, aged 70–85) finding that screening for fracture risk using FRAX and targeting treatment to high-risk individuals significantly reduces hip fractures.

Professor Gittoes is a Consultant Endocrinologist at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham (QEHB), and Honorary Professor of Endocrinology at the University of Birmingham where he is Head of the Centre of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism (CEDAM). More importantly he is Chair of the board of trustees at the Royal Osteoporosis Society

The lads sit down with Prof Raj Thakker to unpack the body’s calcium thermostat and why it matters for bone strength. Raj explains how faults in calcium-sensing pathways can cause hormone and mineral imbalance, increasing bone loss and fracture risk. We also discuss how genetic diagnosis can help families through earlier testing and prevention. A practical conversation connecting molecular biology to better osteoporosis care.

Prof Raj Thakker is Professor of Medicine at the William Harvey Research Institute, Queen Mary University of London, and Emeritus Professor of Medicine at the University of Oxford. He is also a Fellow of Somerville College, Oxford, and Editor-in-Chief of JBMR.