MCA: Validating Patterns of Bone Functional Adaptation in Living Humans

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Bone is a living tissue that can adapt and change in response to an individual’s behavior and environment. Skeletal data therefore are used in bioarchaeology, paleoanthropology, and forensic anthropology to infer habitual activities such as mobility, locomotor type, weapon use, and subsistence strategy. In this Mid-Career Advancement project, the principal investigator aims to improve such inferences through additional examination and validation of relationships among bone, muscle, and activity patterns using imaging and behavioral data from living individuals. This research requires advanced professional development in analysis of CT scans, cutting-edge statistical methods, and enhanced scientific communication, obtained through a new research partnership, quantitative coursework, and outreach training workshops. The project supports training in new research methods and science communication for a female Associate Professor in a field where women are still under-represented at senior levels, as well as curriculum development and associated opportunities for student research and training. The project advances foundational research in bone skeletal biology about the relationships between hard tissue, soft tissue, and mechanical loading in living humans. Three aims are explored using CT data from living individuals. First, the relationship between muscle size and bone strength in different regions of the body is investigated to establish if human bone strength covaries more with localized muscle forces or is systemically dictated by other factors. Second, the covariation between bone strength and self-reported and documented activity patterns is evaluated. Third, path analysis is used to explore possible causal models between loading, muscular size, and bone strength. Through partnership with an expert in functional anatomy and image analysis, the principal investigator gains advanced research skills and expand collaborations. The project specifically meets several goals of the Mid-Career Advancement program, including enabling convergent research, enhancing strategic workforce development, and fostering risk taking.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.