Dear Colleagues,

Thanks to technology platforms like Zoom, we have been bringing members together for both formal and informal opportunities to connect. Last week the Early Stage Investigator Subcommittee hosted a virtual happy hour to give colleagues a chance to relax, chat and network. And the Diversity in Bone and Mineral Research Subcommittee has been hosting bi-weekly research interest meetings, giving members a chance to present their work and solicit feedback. More opportunities like these are planned and I encourage you to keep an eye out for these announcements.

The Society has also increased the number of educational webinars it hosts during this time with topics ranging from Mechanosensitive Osteocytes: Insights into How the Osteocytes Control the Bone Response to Bone Loading and Unloading, Exomes in Bone and Muscle Biology, and an ASBMR Webinar Panel on Treating Patients with Osteoporosis During the COVID-19 Pandemic. If you were not able to tune in live, all webinar recordings are available and free to members on the ASBMR Education Resource Center.

May is National Osteoporosis Month, and ASBMR wants to share your stories! We are looking to hear from our members about their research involving osteoporosis, how they became interested in osteoporosis, or how osteoporosis has touc. Members are encouraged to complete this form. The goal of this campaign is to help increase public awareness of osteoporosis and highlight the scientific advances that our community has made in the research of osteoporosis to date. Please take a moment and share with the world why the work you do changes lives.

Last week, the ASBMR, the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE), Endocrine Society, European Calcified Tissue Society (ECTS) and National Osteoporosis Foundation (NOF) released a joint guidance on osteoporosis management during the Covid-19 pandemic. The genesis of the document was the aforementioned webinar panel that was held in mid-April.  You can read the joint guidance on the ASBMR website.

Last but not least: the ASBMR 2020 Annual Meeting is opening its doors to the world! Whether you are able to attend in person or virtually this September, you will be able to present your research as an oral or poster presentation. Additionally, all accepted abstracts will be published in the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research (JBMR®). I urge you to submit your abstract by the May 27 submission deadline to present at this fall’s Annual Meeting.

I wish you well during this challenging time. Stay healthy and safe.

Sincerely,

Teresita Bellido, Ph.D.
ASBMR President