Demineralized bone tests for bone aging and senolytic drug effects
Develop and validate demineralized bone paper-based human bone metabolic and senolytic assays
This project builds lab tests using thin bone-like sheets to see how human bone ages and how senolytic drugs might help people at risk for bone loss or bone metastasis.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Massachusetts Amherst NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Hadley, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11141838 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
Researchers will make thin slices of demineralized human bone that keep the bone's collagen structure and attach them to standard lab plates to mimic real bone. They will add human bone cells or patient-derived samples to those bone sheets and apply mechanical signals to recreate aspects of the bone environment. The team will use these humanized bone models in 96-well formats to screen metabolic responses and test senolytic drugs that remove aged cells. The goal is to create standardized, high-throughput assays that help pick drugs most likely to slow bone aging and lower metastasis risk.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Ideal participants would include people with cancer at risk of bone metastasis, older adults with osteoporosis, or patients willing to donate bone or marrow samples for research.
Not a fit: People without bone disease or those unwilling to provide tissue samples are unlikely to gain direct benefit from this lab-based project.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, these assays could speed development of better treatments that slow bone aging and reduce the chance of bone metastasis or osteoporosis-related fractures.
How similar studies have performed: Senolytic drugs have shown promising results in preclinical bone models, but using demineralized bone paper to create standardized human bone assays is a novel and not yet clinically proven approach.
Where this research is happening
Hadley, United States
- University of Massachusetts Amherst — Hadley, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Lee, Jungwoo — University of Massachusetts Amherst
- Study coordinator: Lee, Jungwoo
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.