BONE GROWTH BY THE NUMBERS

A grant from the Whitaker Foundation will allow engineer Amy Lerner to learn more about how our bones grow, develop, and heal.

Lerner, assistant professor of mechanical engineering, will use a New Investigator Award of $210,000 for a three-year study of the role of mechanical forces in bone growth.

These forces affect the health of many children, including those with cerebral palsy, where muscles pull on bones abnormally and can cause discomfort, and such other disorders as arthritis and deformities.

"Doctors often perform surgery to alter the mechanics of a joint, knowing that if they correct the mechanics, the problem will correct itself," says Lerner.

"But right now the rules that govern the relationship between mechanics and bone growth aren't well known. Doctors with all the training available still have to take a trial-and-error approach. We hope to produce information that surgeons can use to harness the relationship more fully."

Much of Lerner's work involves developing sophisticated computer models known as finite-element models to quantify stresses and strains.

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