The International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF) has recognized Professor René Rizzoli, Emeritus Professor of Medicine at the University Hospitals of Geneva, with the prestigious IOF President’s Award. The Award honours individuals who have made a significant and longstanding contribution to the advancement of the work of the IOF, through furthering one or more of the mission statements and/or goals of the Foundation.

The Award was presented by IOF President Professor Cyrus Cooper on March 24, 2022, at the opening of the virtual World Congress on Osteoporosis, Osteoarthritis and Musculoskeletal Diseases: 

"It is a great honour for me to present this much-deserved Award to my colleague René Rizzoli. His exceptional personal commitment to the International Osteoporosis Foundation for over two decades is unparalleled. He has served IOF as an ex-officio member of the IOF Founding Board Executive Committee, as the Chair of the IOF Committee of Scientific Advisors until 2006 and as IOF Treasurer since 2007. Respected internationally as a leading researcher and clinician in the bone field, he has made major contributions to the Foundation’s scientific programs and initiatives, including the development of landmark IOF training programs. We hope to count on his wise stewardship as an Executive Committee member and Treasurer of IOF for many more years to come."

Professor René Rizzoli M.D. is an internist and endocrinologist, with a subspecialty focus on metabolic bone diseases, osteoporosis and disorders of mineral metabolism. He is emeritus professor of medicine at the University Hospitals of Geneva, and former head of the service of bone diseases. Professor Rizzoli is the former chairman of the IOF Committee of Scientific Advisors and is the current chairman of the Scientific Advisory Board of the European Society for Clinical and Economic Aspects of Osteoporosis and Osteoarthritis (ESCEO). He has co-chaired the scientific program committee of the annual IOF-ESCEO World Congress on Osteoporosis, Osteoarthritis, and Musculoskeletal Diseases since 2009. He is a founding ex-officio Board member of IOF, has served as IOF Treasurer since 2007, and is a former president of the Board of the Swiss Society against Osteoporosis and of the Swiss Bone and Mineral Society.

As author of more than 900 publications and winner of numerous awards, he is an internationally recognized researcher in the field of bone and mineral metabolism. Areas of research include mode of action of hormones; hormone receptors and intracellular signaling; renal and bone physiology; malignant hypercalcemia; bone metastases; osteoporosis pathophysiology, nutritional control of bone health, bone growth, osteoporosis diagnosis and treatment, among others. Professor Rizzoli has served as editor and reviewer for the field’s leading journals, and is currently Editor-in-Chief of the journal Calcified Tissue International and Musculoskeletal Research, and is an associate editor of Osteoporosis International.  

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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 osteoporosis, osteoarthritis, sarcopenia, and frailty. The WCO-IOF-ESCEO 2022 is held as a virtual Congress.
For complete information visit https://virtual.wco-iof-esceo.org/

The WCO-IOF-ESCO 2023 is planned from May 4-7, 2023 in Barcelona, Spain. 

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 more than 300 patient, medical and research organizations, work together to make fracture prevention and healthy mobility a worldwide heath care priority. www.osteoporosis.foundation @iofbonehealth