MCA: Validating Patterns of Bone Functional Adaptation in Living Humans

骨骼是一种活组织，可以适应和改变个人的行为和环境。因此，Skeleton数据被用于生物考古学、古人类学和法医人类学，以推断习惯性活动，如移动性、运动类型、武器使用和生存策略。在这个中期职业发展项目中，主要研究者的目的是通过使用活体的成像和行为数据对骨骼、肌肉和活动模式之间的关系进行额外的检查和验证来改善这种推断。这项研究需要在CT扫描分析，尖端的统计方法和加强科学交流，通过新的研究伙伴关系，定量课程和外展培训研讨会获得先进的专业发展。该项目支持对一名女副教授进行新的研究方法和科学传播方面的培训，在这个领域，妇女在高级职位上的代表性仍然不足，该项目还支持为学生的研究和培训制定课程和提供相关机会。该项目推进了骨骨骼生物学的基础研究，涉及活体人类硬组织、软组织和机械负荷之间的关系。三个目标进行了探讨，使用CT数据从生活的个人。首先，肌肉大小和骨骼强度之间的关系，在身体的不同区域进行了研究，以建立如果人体骨骼强度协变更多的局部肌肉力量或系统地由其他因素决定。其次，骨强度和自我报告和记录的活动模式之间的协变进行了评估。第三，路径分析是用来探讨可能的因果关系模型之间的负荷，肌肉的大小，和骨强度。通过与功能解剖学和图像分析专家的合作，首席研究员获得了先进的研究技能并扩大了合作。该项目特别符合中期职业发展计划的几个目标，包括实现趋同研究，加强战略性劳动力发展，并促进冒险。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并已被认为是值得通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估的支持。

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.