In a presentation held today at the virtual World Congress on Osteoporosis, Osteoarthritis and Musculoskeletal Diseases, the IOF Olof Johnell Science Award was officially presented to Dr Manju Chandran, MD, FACP, FACE, FAMS, CCD, Senior Consultant and Director - Osteoporosis and Bone Metabolism Unit, Department of Endocrinology, Singapore General Hospital, DUKE NUS Medical School.

The annual International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF) award recognizes a distinguished medical professional and researcher who has an outstanding record of achievements in education, research and policy implementation within the bone and musculoskeletal field.

Professor Cyrus Cooper, President of IOF, stated:

“I am delighted to present the IOF Olof Johnell Science Award to Dr Manju Chandran, a most worthy recipient of this distinguished award in recognition of global contributions to the field of osteoporosis in a scientific or policy implementation area. She has tirelessly worked to bring the Asia Pacific region to the global forefront in the fight against musculoskeletal disorders by highlighting the immense potential for research in osteoporosis and other metabolic bone diseases there. Her personal commitment to advancing the care of metabolic bone diseases is exemplary and is reflected in the region-wide advocacy and policy level changing work that she does”.

Dr Manju Chandran is Senior Consultant Endocrinologist and Director of the Osteoporosis and Bone Metabolism Unit that she set up in 2007 at Singapore General Hospital (SGH), Singapore at a time when the field of bone metabolism was essentially non-existent in Singapore. She is the Chair of the Asia Pacific Consortium on Osteoporosis (APCO). As Chair, she successfully led the consortium to produce the world’s first dual-continental harmonized Standards of Care for the Diagnosis and Management of Osteoporosis in 2021. She also Chairs the Singapore Ministry of Health’s Appropriate Care Guidance for Osteoporosis. Dr Chandran is also the immediate past Chair of the Chapter of Endocrinologists of the College of Physicians Singapore; elected member of the International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF) Committee of Scientific Advisors; and past President of the Endocrine and Metabolic Society of Singapore. She is Board member of the International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF), Treasurer of the Osteoporosis Society of Singapore, Deputy Chair of the Asia Pacific and South Africa Regional Advisory Council of the IOF, and the Vice Chair of the Asia Pacific Panel of the International Society of Clinical Densitometry.  She is also an appointed Task Force member of the 5th International Workshop on Parathyroid Disorders and of the WHO Collaborating Centre on Aging and Musculoskeletal Health and ESCEO Workgroup on Phosphate Wasting Disorders.

Her research and clinical interests include the epidemiology and health economic burden of osteoporosis, rare bone disorders, renal bone disease and parathyroid disorders. She is a strong advocate for health care professional education and has organized and/or directed numerous conferences and courses in the Asia Pacific region, including multiple Bone Densitometry courses, the 2108 IOF Asia Pacific Region Congress in Sydney, the first IOF Skeletal Rare Disorders Symposium in the Asia Pacific in 2019, the first Parathyroid, Bone and Kidney Seminar in 2016 and the first Parathyroid Master Class in the Asia Pacific in October 2019.  She has authored more than 150 publications including invited Editorials, Commentaries, Reviews and Original Research papers in international peer-reviewed journals, and is the first or senior author of more than three quarters of these publications. She has delivered more than 80 plenary and symposia and key-note lectures at regional and international conferences in the fields of Endocrinology and Bone Metabolism.

Dr Chandran is the recipient of numerous international awards including the IOF-ESCEO International Young Investigator Award for 2013, and the IOF Committee of National Societies Medal in 2015. Her Fracture Liaison Service at SGH-OPTIMAL was the first in the Asia Pacific and the third in the world to be awarded a Gold Star in IOF’s Global Capture the Fracture Campaign.. Two additional awards that she holds dear to her heart are the light-hearted yet meaningful Singhealth-DUKE NUS “Most Caffeinated Researcher” Award 2019 (an award that is given to the researcher with the most positive attitude who never gives up and who always goes the extra mile in her work and while working with others), and the 2021 Most Inspiring Mentor Award that she was conferred at the Bicentennial year celebrations of Singapore General Hospital. In addition, she has received multiple “Service with a Heart” Awards conferred by her hospital - Singapore General - the oldest and largest public hospital in Singapore.

Dr Chandran commented:

"It is an immense honour to be receiving the Olof Johnell award named after one of the most respected clinician scientists, Professor Olof Johnell, someone whose work I have always admired ever since I became involved in this field. Truly, I stand on the shoulders of the giants who have won the award before me. With great honour, however, comes great responsibility and this award spurs me on to continue to give my all to this fascinating area of medicine for the rest of my life."

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About the World Congress on Osteoporosis, Osteoarthritis & Musculoskeletal Diseases (WCO-IOF-ESCEO)

Held jointly by IOF and ESCEO, the WCO-IOF-ESCEO annual congress is the world’s largest forum for the presentation of clinical research and new advances in the prevention and management of musculoskeletal disorders, including sarcopenia and frailty. WCO-IOF-ESCEO 2021 will be held as a virtual congress from August 26 to 28, 2021, with access on demand for registrants up to three months following the congress. For complete information visit http://virtual.wco-iof-esceo.org/  #OsteoCongress

About IOF
The International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF) is the world's largest nongovernmental organization dedicated to the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of osteoporosis and related musculoskeletal diseases. IOF members, including committees of scientific researchers as well as 268 patient, medical and research societies, work together to make fracture prevention and healthy mobility a worldwide heath care priority. https://www.osteoporosis.foundation  @iofbonehealth

About ESCEO
The European Society for Clinical and Economic Aspects of Osteoporosis, Osteoarthritis and Musculoskeletal Diseases (ESCEO) is a non-profit organization, dedicated to a close interaction between clinical scientists dealing with rheumatic disorders, pharmaceutical industry developing new compounds in this field, regulators responsible for the registration of such drugs and health policy makers, to integrate the management of osteoporosis and osteoarthritis within the comprehensive perspective of health resources utilization. The objective of ESCEO is to provide practitioners with the latest clinical and economic information, allowing them to organize their daily practice, in an evidence-based medicine perspective, with a cost-conscious perception. www.esceo.org