Lynda Bonewald is a professor of anatomy, cell biology, physiology, and orthopaedic surgery and the founding director of the Indiana Center for Musculoskeletal Health (ICMH) at the

Indiana University School of Medicine The Indiana University School of Medicine (IUSM) is a major, multi-campus medical school located throughout the US state, U.S. state of Indiana and is both the Medical school, undergraduate and Graduate medical education, graduate medical school o ...

. She studies

bone A bone is a rigid organ that constitutes part of the skeleton in most vertebrate animals. Bones protect the various other organs of the body, produce red and white blood cells, store minerals, provide structure and support for the body, ...

and the

musculoskeletal system The human musculoskeletal system (also known as the human locomotor system, and previously the activity system) is an organ system that gives humans the ability to move using their Muscular system, muscular and Human skeleton, skeletal systems. ...

. She has served as president of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research (ASBMR, 2012-2013) and the Association of Biomolecular Resource Facilities (1999-2000).

Early life and education

Bonewald graduated from the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public university, public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 stud ...

and earned a Ph.D. in Immunology/Microbiology from the

Medical University of South Carolina The Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) is a public medical school in Charleston, South Carolina. It opened in 1824 as a small private college aimed at training physicians and has since established hospitals and medical facilities acros ...

in 1984.

Career

Bonewald was a post-doctoral fellow at the Ralph H. Johnson Veterans Affairs Medical Center in

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the List of municipalities in South Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint of South Carolina's coastline on Charleston Harbor, an inlet of the Atla ...

where she worked with Makio Ogawa on growth factors for

hematopoietic stem cells Hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) are the stem cells that give rise to other blood cells. This process is called haematopoiesis. In vertebrates, the first definitive HSCs arise from the ventral endothelial wall of the embryonic aorta within the ...

. Bonewald joined the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio in 1986 as an assistant professor, working with Gregory Robert Mundy. In 2001, she joined the

University of Missouri–Kansas City The University of Missouri–Kansas City (UMKC or Kansas City) is a Public university, public research university in Kansas City, Missouri, United States. UMKC is part of the University of Missouri System and has a UMKC School of Medicine, medic ...

(UMKC), becoming the Lefkowitz Professor of Oral Biology and the director of the Bone Biology Research Program at UMKC's School of Dentistry. In 2009, she and her collaborators received funding from the

National Institutes of Health The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in 1887 and is part of the United States Department of Health and Human Service ...

through a National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases ‘Grand Opportunity’ grant. In 2009 Bonewald also became director of the UMKC Center of Excellence in the Study of Dental and Musculoskeletal Tissues and took on the newly-created position of Interim Vice Chancellor for Research at UMKC. In 2015, as Vice Chancellor for Translational and Clinical Research at UMKC, Bonewald became the founding director of the Kansas City Consortium on Musculoskeletal Diseases (KCMD). Leadership of the consortium rotated between its partners, UMKC, the University of Kansas Medical Center and the Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences. As of 2016, Bonewald was appointed as the founding director of the Indiana Center for Musculoskeletal Health (ICMH) at the

. Bonewald served as president of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research (ASBMR) for 2012-2013. She was president of the Association of Biomolecular Resource Facilities for 1999-2000. She has served on the council of the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases at the NIH. She is a member of the American Association for Dental Research (AADR), and the International Association for Dental Research (IADR). She has been chair of the Board of Scientific Counselors for the

National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research The National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) is a branch of the U.S. National Institutes of Health. The institute aims to improve the oral, dental, and craniofacial health through research and the distribution of important ...

(NIDCR).

Research

Bonewald is a leading bone researcher working to better understand the musculoskeletal system, the effects of aging, and the treatment of musculoskeletal diseases such as

osteoporosis Osteoporosis is a systemic skeletal disorder characterized by low bone mass, micro-architectural deterioration of bone tissue leading to more porous bone, and consequent increase in Bone fracture, fracture risk. It is the most common reason f ...

and

sarcopenia Sarcopenia ( ICD-10-CM code M62.84) is a type of muscle loss that occurs with aging and/or immobility. It is characterized by the degenerative loss of skeletal muscle mass, quality, and strength. The rate of muscle loss is dependent on exer ...

. Despite being told that she would waste her time, she focused on a largely ignored topic that she found interesting. Bonewald went on to make important discoveries relating to

astrocytes Astrocytes (from Ancient Greek , , "star" and , , "cavity", "cell"), also known collectively as astroglia, are characteristic star-shaped glial cells in the brain and spinal cord. They perform many functions, including biochemical control of end ...

and osteocytes. Astrocytes are cells in the brain and spinal cord. Osteocytes are cells, embedded in the mineralized matrix of bone structure, which are important in muscle-bone interactions and communications between them. Bonewald discovered that osteocytes and muscle cells send signals to each other that influence growth and deterioration of both bone and muscle. Bonewald now studies endocrine crosstalk between bone and muscle and how this relates to aging. Her work has enabled researchers to better understand age-related bone and muscle loss and suggests possible novel treatments. Bonewald has contributed to the advancement of the field with more than 200 publications, 42 reviews, and four commentaries. She has developed tools which are used globally by researches to study osteocyte biology and function. She holds nine patents.

Awards

* 1985-1986, Damon Runyon Fellow, Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation * 2006, Distinguished Scientist Award in Mineralized Tissue from the International Association for Dental Research (IADR) and the American Association for Dental Research (AADR) * 2006, W.S.S. Jee Remodeling in Bone (RIB) Award from the Sun Valley Workshop * 2015, William F. Neuman Award, American Society for Bone and Mineral Research (ASBMR) * 2019, Fellow, Biological Sciences,

American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is a United States–based international nonprofit with the stated mission of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsib ...

(AAAS) * 2020, Bicentennial Medal, Indiana University * 2020, Distinguished Professor, Indiana University * 2021, Fellow, American Society for Bone and Mineral Research

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bonewald, Lynda Faye Living people Medical University of South Carolina alumni University of Texas at Austin alumni University of Missouri–Kansas City faculty Indiana University School of Medicine faculty American Association for the Advancement of Science Year of birth missing (living people)