ESCEO-IOF-ABBH Young Investigator Awards recognize research excellence

Dr Mark Bolland, Senior Research Fellow at the Department of Medicine, University of Auckland in New Zealand and Dr Aline Gauthier, Director, Health Economics and Outcomes Research at Amaris, UK, have been announced as the winners of the ESCEO-IOF-ABBH Young Investigator Award.

The award, an honorarium of 2,000 Euros each, was presented to the two highest scoring abstracts by young researchers (first authors under the age of 40) that were submitted to the IOF WCO-ECCEO10, the leading global osteoporosis congress which took place from May 5-8, 2010 in Florence, Italy.

The award was presented by Cyrus Cooper, Chair of the IOF WCO-ECCEO10 Scientific Programme Committee and by ABBH (Alliance for Better Bone Health) representatives David Cahall, Global Medical Director for Sanofi Aventis, and Pascale Atlan, Medical & Technical Affairs Europe, Warner Chilcott.

Dr Bolland's research, 'Effect of calcium supplements on the risk of myocardial infarction and cardiovascular events: a meta-analysis' investigates whether calcium supplements, without co-administration of vitamin D, increases the risk of cardiovascular events.

The abstract 'Development and validation of an epidemiological model to estimate the burden of post menopausal osteoporosis' by Dr Gauthier presents a new disease model which can be easily adapted to assess the burden of osteoporosis in different settings and countries.

Professor Jean-Yves Reginster, ESCEO President and Co-Chair of the Congress, noted, "These young investigators received the Award based on the excellence and quality of their research. ESCEO and IOF, in partnership with the Alliance for Better Bone Health, are committed to helping support and recognize the work of young scholars engaged in innovative osteoporosis research."

Provided by International Osteoporosis Foundation