SABRE Team
Dennis Black, PhD
Co-Principal Investigator
Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics
University of California, San Francisco
Dr. Black has over 20 years of experience investigating osteoporosis and therapies to treat this disease. His most recent research involved the evaluation of treatments for osteoporosis and the risk of fracture. The study concluded that benefits of treatments outweigh the risk of rare femoral fractures. The results were published in early 2010 in the New England Journal of Medicine and received extensive media coverage. Dr. Black is currently Principal Investigator, along with Dr. Roberta Ballard, for a multi-center trial (TOLSURF) pioneering treatment for BPD (bronchopulmonary dysplasia) for extremely low birth weight infants.
Mary L. Bouxsein, PhD
Co-Principal Investigator
Professor, Department of Orthopedic Surgery
Harvard Medical School
Mary Bouxsein is the Maurice E Mueller Professor of Orthopedic Surgery at Harvard Medical School and co-lead on the landmark Study to Advance BMD as a Regulatory Endpoint (SABRE), which aims to change the paradigm of drug development in osteoporosis by gaining approval for bone mineral density as a surrogate endpoint for fractures via the FDA Biomarker Qualification Program. Dr. Bouxsein also co-directs the Center for Musculoskeletal Research and is a faculty member in the combined Harvard-MIT Health Sciences and Technology Program. Dr. Bouxsein received her PhD in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University and completed postdoctoral training at Harvard Medical School. Her research focuses on understanding the biomechanical underpinnings of skeletal fragility in osteoporosis and other bone diseases, including bone loss due to spaceflight. Her work spans both preclinical and large clinical studies (e.g., Framingham Osteoporosis Study, MrOS study).
She has served in several leadership roles, including the President of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research, Associate Editor of the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research, Board Member of the International Osteoporosis Foundation and member of the Advisory Council for the National Institute of Arthritis, Skin and Musculoskeletal Diseases at the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Bouxsein has published over 435 peer-reviewed articles and 30 book chapters and is a sought-after speaker both nationally and internationally.
Richard qualified in medicine from Edinburgh in 1977. He trained in endocrinology in Edinburgh, Northwick Park and at the Mayo Clinic (Dr B L Riggs). He leads a research group on the pathogenesis, diagnosis and treatment of osteoporosis; of particular note is his contribution to the use of bone turnover markers and the development of treatments for osteoporosis. He was Secretary and President of the Bone Research Society and the European Calcified Tissue Society. He is an NIHR Senior Investigator (Emeritus). His work has been recognised by the Philippe Bordier Award (2012) (European Calcified Tissue Society), Frederic C Bartter Award 2014 and William F Neuman Award 2023 (American Society for Bone and Mineral Research), Kohn and Linda Edwards Awards from the Royal Osteoporosis Society (2004, 2018), the Clinical Endocrinology Trust Award from the European Society for Endocrinology (2020) and the Dent Lecturer from the Bone Research Society (2021).
Richard Eastell, BSc (Hons), MBChB, MD (Edin), FRCP (London, Edin), FRCPI (Hon), FRCPath, FMedSci
Co-Principal Investigator
Professor of Bone Metabolism and Director of the Mellanby Centre for Musculoskeletal Research
University of Sheffield
Bente Langdahl, MD, PhD, DMSc
Co-Principal Investigator
Professor, Department of Clinical Medicine, Department of Endocrinology and Internal Medicine
Aarhus University
Bente Langdahl is Professor at Aarhus University and the Department of Endocrinology at Aarhus University Hospital, Denmark. She graduated from the medical school at Aarhus University in 1988 and did her clinical training in endocrinology at Aarhus University Hospital. She attained her PhD: “Investigations on a possible pathogenic role of thyroid hormones in postmenopausal osteoporosis”. and her DMSc: “The genetics of bone mass and risk of osteoporotic fractures” at Aarhus University.
Bente Langdahl’s main research interests are the development of new treatments and the long-term management of osteoporosis, the impact of diabetes, thyroid diseases, and HIV on bone health, and osteogenesis imperfecta in adults. She has more than 300 publications in peer-reviewed journals.
Bente Langdahl has received the ECTS Philippe Bordier Award, the ASBMR Frederic C. Bartter Award and the DBS Mosekilde Award. Bente Langdahl is past-president of ECTS and past-chair of IFMRS.
Susan Ewing, MS
Data Analyst
Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics
University of California, San Francisco
Susan is a data analyst and data manager at UCSF, where I support the SABRE project. I wrote the statistical analysis plans and data documentation for the SABRE qualification plan. Earlier in my career at UCSF, I worked on the SOF and MrOS studies, large longitudinal observational studies of osteoporosis. More recently, my work has included the Iceland AGES ancillary studies of marrow fat, FSH, and bone health and the PERL Skeletal Health study examining bone health in type 1 diabetes. I conduct statistical analyses for investigators and contribute to manuscript preparation, including the creation of tables and figures and drafting of the Methods and Results sections. I also manage participant DXA data for large, multi-site studies. Outside of work, I enjoy running, swimming, cooking and baking, visiting my daughter in Australia, and spending time with my husband, father, and three cats.
Li-Yung Lui, MS
Data Analyst
California Pacific Medical Center Research Institute
I am a data analyst at CPMC Research Institute, where I support the SABRE project. My works have resulted in various SABRE publications. In addition, I wrote the statistical analysis plans and data documentation for the SABRE qualification plan. Earlier in my career at CPMC, I worked on the SOF and MrOS studies, large longitudinal observational studies of osteoporosis. More recently, my work has included SOMMA study (Study of Muscle, Mobility, and Aging) and TOPAZ study (Trial of Parkinson’s and Zoledronic Acid). My primary responsibilities are determining the appropriate statistical procedures needed to test research hypotheses and translating the results to written and graphical presentations that best describe how the research questions were tested. I have also helped investigators forward their ancillary studies by providing accurate inventory for studies’ biochemical specimens and arranging shipments of specimens from central laboratories for special studies.
Marian Schini, MD, PhD, FHEA
Consultant Physician at the Metabolic Bone Centre, Sheffield Teaching Hospitals Foundation NHS Trust
Senior Clinical Research Fellow in Bone Metabolism at the
University of Sheffield
Marian Schini completed her training in Endocrinology and Diabetes in 2014 in Athens, Greece. She has been working as a clinical research fellow for the University of Sheffield since 2015, with an interest in osteoporosis and calcium metabolism disorders. After completing her PhD in 2020, she was appointed as an NHS consultant at the Metabolic Bone Centre at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals and continues to work for the University of Sheffield as a Senior Clinical Research Fellow.
Marian is a member in several committees like the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research (ASBMR) Professional Practice Committee, the UK Bone and Calcium Specialized Endocrine Network and the Executive Committee of the Mellanby Centre for Musculoskeletal Research. She is on the Programme Committee for the European Calcified Tissue Society (2027). She is an invited speaker at a number of meetings including the Endocrine Society (2026).
Marian has published several papers on bone and mineral metabolism; she has an H-index of 14 and 3 of her papers have received more than 100 citations. She has received awards from various societies for her work, including a Young Investigator Award from ASBMR (2021). She has been an active member of the SABRE group since 2022.
Website: https://sheffield.ac.uk/smph/people/academic/clinical-medicine/marian-schini
Tatiane Vilaca, MD, PhD
Clinical Research Fellow
University of Sheffield
Dr. Tatiane Vilaca is a Clinical Research Fellow at the University of Sheffield and a member of the FNIH-ASBMR-SABRE Project team. She has served as the first author on several SABRE publications reporting the evidence base for the FDA’s qualification of Bone Mineral Density (BMD) as a surrogate endpoint for fractures to the wider scientific community. Trained as an Endocrinologist in Brazil, Dr. Vilaca completed her PhD at the University of Sheffield in 2020, investigating bone health in diabetes and the underlying mechanisms of bone fragility. Beyond her work with the SABRE initiative, she investigates the effects of chronic disease and medications on bone health. She has also conducted research into rare bone diseases, including hypophosphatasia (HPP) and osteogenesis imperfecta. Her expertise spans systematic reviews and international collaborations aimed to understanding the mechanisms of bone disease and optimizing treatment pathways to benefit patients with metabolic bone disorders.
Austin Thompson, MPH
Research Associate
Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics
University of California, San Francisco
Austin Thompson is an epidemiologist with interests in musculoskeletal health and injury and violence prevention. He received his MPH in Epidemiology from the OHSU-PSU School of Public Health where he is currently an epidemiology doctoral student. He supported SABRE in compiling the documents for the Final Qualification Package submission to the FDA. Outside of work, he enjoys gardening, running, hiking, and traveling.
Lucy Wu, MPH
Research Associate
Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics
University of California, San Francisco
I am a senior research associate at UCSF, where I support the SABRE project. I manage the daily operations for running large, multi-center observational and RCT studies for osteoporosis and low back pain research initiatives.
Outside of work, I enjoy walks, strength training, axe throwing, archery, cooking and baking, traveling, and spending time with my friends and family.