Osteology Research Network

Advancing Musculoskeletal Health

Advancing Osteology & Musculoskeletal Health

The fields of osteology and musculoskeletal health are becoming increasingly critical, particularly as global populations age. The rising prevalence of conditions like osteoporosis and sarcopenia presents a significant public health challenge, which is often compounded by other systemic issues like diabetes, inflammatory diseases, and cancer.

The Osteology Research Network (ORN) at the University of Bern is a collaborative network dedicated to addressing these challenges by integrating diverse expertise and resources to advance research, teaching, and clinical care.

Leveraging Data for Precision Medicine

ORN's core mission is to investigate the systemic drivers of bone and musculoskeletal health by leveraging multimodal data. This includes clinical information, advanced imaging (like DXA), body composition data, and digital and molecular biomarkers. By combining these rich datasets with innovative data science and modeling we aim to move from prevention to prediction and from targeted therapies to truly individualized treatment plans.

A Collaborative and Transdisciplinary Vision

Musculoskeletal health is multi-faceted, and so is our network. We bring together specialists from numerous clinical disciplines and adjacent fields in biomedicine and technology to complement and foster innovative scientific approaches. Our research methodologies are transdisciplinary, allowing us to seamlessly integrate diverse sources of information. We have extensive experience in patient-oriented clinical studies and employ cutting-edge technologies to advance our research and clinical applications.

Building a Sustainable Network

The ORN is committed to building a robust network that breaks down disciplinary silos. We provide a multi-stakeholder platform that leverages centralized infrastructure and harmonized datasets to stimulate new research hypotheses and collaborative projects. Through our strong national and international research collaborations, we are shaping the future of musculoskeletal health. We also actively foster the next generation of researchers through our teaching activities and promote public engagement through outreach initiatives and patient partnerships.

Selected Publications from ORN members:

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