New insight into bone ageing in women earns national award

SVI PhD student Mary Louise Fac has taken home the Roger Melick Young Investigator Award from the Australia and New Zealand Bone and Mineral Society (ANZBMS).

The award recognises innovative student research presentations, honouring the legacy of bone research pioneer Roger Melick.

Mary Louise’s work reveals a surprising age-dependent characteristic in women’s bones: women over 75 years old deposit bone with a different collagen arrangement to women under 45. This change was not seen in men.

The hard material of bone contains a specialised type of collagen which is arranged in a way that provides flexibility so our bones can withstand impacts like running and jumping.

Even though this is an important part of bone’s strength, it can’t be measured by a bone density scan. A change in collagen arrangement with age may help explain why older women can still break bones even when they have normal bone density.

This innovative work forms part of Mary Louise’s PhD research in SVI’s Bone Cell Biology & Disease Lab, with collaborators from the Australian Synchrotron and the University of Melbourne Dental School. The discovery opens a new window on ageing bone biology and could guide future strategies for fracture prevention.