ֱ’s Kathleen Becker appointed chair of international bone imaging group
The ֱ’s Kathleen Becker, Ph.D., has been appointed chair of the Image Analysis of Nerves in Bone working group under the International Society of Bone Morphometry, a research organization that develops and improves tools for the quantitative imaging and analysis of bone.
“I am honored to bring together researchers from different institutions on a global scale,” said Becker, assistant professor in ֱ's Department of Biomedical Sciences in the College of Osteopathic Medicine. “Together, we can increase the accessibility of bone innervation research and accelerate discoveries that will ultimately benefit patients struggling with bone density disorders and fracture risk.”
The appointment positions Becker at the forefront of a global initiative to advance skeletal imaging through collaborative research. The group brings together scientists from around the world to establish standardized protocols for imaging and quantifying nerves in bone — a critical area for understanding bone health, according to the ISBM.
The initiative builds directly on collaborative research conducted by Becker along with Peter Caradonna, B.S., HTL(ASCP)CM, manager of the ֱ Histology and Imaging Core within ֱ’s Center for Pain Research, one of two Centers of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE) at ֱ funded by the National Institutes of Health.
Further contributors include Phil Long, B.S., ֱ Histology and Imaging Core research technician, and Tamara King, Ph.D., professor in the College of Osteopathic Medicine and director of the ֱ Behavior Core, also housed within the Center for Pain Research.
The research was initially supported through a pilot project by the Center for Pain Research and is now funded by an R16 SuRE-First grant awarded to Becker.
Becker focuses her research on novel mechanisms governing bone formation and how disruption of these pathways leads to osteoporosis and increased fracture risk. She is one of four inaugural faculty researchers in ֱ’s Center for Cell Signaling Research, established in 2024 through a second COBRE grant award to ֱ.
Her laboratory examines the role of cell signaling proteins in osteoblasts and the impact of peripheral nerve injury on bone formation, with the ultimate goal of identifying new therapeutic strategies to treat osteoporosis and prevent fracture-related morbidity and mortality.
Becker earned her Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and holds a bachelor’s from Bucknell University. She completed in bone biology and genetics at the MaineHealth Institute for Research in Scarborough.