The William F. Neuman Award recognizes an ASBMR member who has made outstanding and major scientific contributions in the area of bone and mineral research, and for contributions to associates and trainees in teaching, research, and administration. The award includes a $2,000 honorarium and a plaque which is presented at a morning plenary session at the Annual Meeting. The award is named after William F. Neuman, Ph.D., a world-renowned scientist in the field of mineral metabolism.
Prof Richard Eastell, the 2023 recipient of this prestigious award, graduated with distinction in Medicine from the University of Edinburgh and trained in Edinburgh, Harrow, and the Mayo Clinic (with Dr B L Riggs as his mentor). While at the Mayo Clinic, Richard developed a number of novel approaches for studying osteoporosis, including the use of stable (non-radioactive) isotopes to measure the absorption of calcium from food, the use of an infusion technique to measure the production of the active form of vitamin D, the measurement of bone density at the site in the wrist where fractures commonly occur (the ultradistal radius) and a height ratio approach to identifying vertebral fractures on radiographs of the spine.
Richard joined the University of 91̽»¨ in 1989, and currently directs the Mellanby Centre for Musculoskeletal Research, a centre of excellence in translational and clinical bone research, which brings together researchers from across the Faculty of Health, the Department of Biomedical Sciences, the Insigneo Institute and the Centre for Computational Imaging and Simulation Technologies in Biomedicine.
He has published widely on the pathogenesis, diagnosis and treatment of osteoporosis and is known for his work on bone turnover markers and the identification of vertebral fractures.
His work has been recognised by the ASBMR (the Bartter Award 2014), the ESE (Clinical Endocrinology Trust Award 2020), and nationally (he is a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences). Richard is also the past president of the European Calcified Tissue Society (ECTS).
Richard was nominated for the 2023 William F. Neuman Award by Dr Sundeep Khosla, and will travel to Vancouver to accept the award at the ASBMR Annual Meeting on 13-16 October.
Richard said, "I thank the ASBMR for giving me this prestigious award and for all the opportunities they have given me over the past 40 years.
The success that I have achieved is a consequence of the many fellows, colleagues and collaborators who have worked with me. I have received tremendous support from my nominator, Dr Sundeep Khosla, in scientific collaboration and our editorial work on Bone; from my supporter, Dr Steven Cummings, for sharing ideas and challenging dogma; from my other supporter, Dr Graham Russell, for bringing me to 91̽»¨ and being a constant support.​​​​​​
Professor Richard Eastell
Professor of Bone Metabolism, the University of 91̽»¨
"I must also acknowledge that I have many other essential collaborators, including Dr Dennis Black, with whom I have worked on many projects, the most exciting being the SABRE project. I must finish by acknowledging the love and support I have received from my family and friends."