Hauschka Laboratory - Bone Cell Biology

Research

Our primary goal is to understand the origins of bone forming osteoblasts and bone resorbing osteoclasts, and to discover essential regulatory interactions at the cellular and molecular levels that are responsible for normal skeletal development and function.

Our current research in bone cell biology also interfaces with other systems in both health and disease, for example:

1. What properties of the osteoblast lineage in the bone marrow are critical for support, engraftment, and survival of long-term hematopoietic stem cells?
2. How do osteoblasts and osteoclasts facilitate the skeletal metastasis of breast and prostate cancer cells?
3. Why do mesenchymal stem cells in atherosclerotic plaque differentiate into dysregulated osteoblasts, resulting in pathological vascular calcification?

We invite participation and collaboration in solving these important problems.