Bone Physiopathology Program (BoNetwork)
DIRECTOR: Roberto Sitia e Enrico Gherlone

The mission of the BoNetwork Research Program is to achieve a better understanding of the bases of bone homeostasis and the pathomechanisms of bone diseases, translating into the identification of potential therapeutic targets and prognostic biomarkers for skeletal diseases.

Much bone cell biology and physiology lie unexplored. Understanding how osteoblasts and osteoclasts differentiate, operate, and apoptose, how calcium acts as a hormone, how mechanical forces are transduced into anabolic responses, and how certain cancers divert the bone environment to their advantage, adapting to stress and escaping therapies, would provide obvious targets for genetic and age-related, involutional bone disorders and osteotropic cancers.

Diverse groups at the San Raffaele Scientific Institute are actively working on basic and clinical issues related to bone disorders. The interdivisional BoNetwork Program coordinates all components of basic, translational and clinical research interfacing bone physiopathology. Sharing disease models, expertise and technological platforms in bone physiology and bone-related diseases yields strong scientific synergies.

The Program integrates the following areas: genetics, cell biology, tissue engineering, orthopaedics, nephrology, immunology, endocrinology, oncology, odontoiatrics, pediatrics, internal medicine and geriatrics.