Meet the research leaders in bone growth
Professor Cory Xian BVetSci MSc PhD
Professor Xian is the leader of the Bone Growth Stream at the Children's Research Centre and an Affiliate Associate Professor in the School of Paediatrics and Reproductive Health. He is also a Professor of Bone Research and NHMRC Senior Research Fellow at the Sansom Institute for Health Research at the University of South Australia, where he leads the Bone Growth and Repair Research Group.
Professor Xian is inspired by the relatively unexplored nature of paediatric bone biology research and advancing knowledge about the mechanisms and regulation for normal bone growth and bone lengthening in children. His team is currently working on ways to prevent bone growth defects caused by chemotherapy and exploit the regenerative potential of bone marrow, and has already been successful in identifying specific micronutrients that have protective properties for the skeleton during cancer treatment. In addition, Professor Xian is looking at ways to correct faulty bone repair using growth factors and stem cells.
Professor Xian's research has significant implications for the skeletal health of children suffering from bone deformities and injuries, as well as for age-related bone loss and the early onset of osteoporosis, which can be triggered by poor bone development in childhood.
Associate Professor Bruce Foster AM, MBBS MD, FRACS
Associate Professor Foster is Deputy Director of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at the Women's and Children's Hospital and Chairman of the Bone Growth Foundation Inc, which funds research and treatment for a quarter of a million Australian children afflicted with bone impairments.
Associate Professor Foster has devoted the last 30 years of his medical career to understanding the structure and function of bone growth, and working with his team to develop new treatment strategies for common bone deformities and skeletal diseases that currently have no cure.
His clinical interests include limb lengthening, hip surgery, sport injuries in children and clinical outreach services in rural areas. Currently Associate Professor Foster is investigating the role of ultrasound in the prenatal diagnosis of bone impairments, and is looking at the surgical applications of a protein called bone morphogenetic protein 7 (BMP7) in the repair of human vertebrate injuries. In addition, Associate Professor Foster is researching the use of gene therapy as a treatment for Maroteaux-Lamy Syndrome, a rare physical disorder that causes stunted growth and organ damage in affected patients.
