Physician-scientist says you have to understand a disease before you can intervene.
“Research really allows us to carefully evaluate where we are and how we can do better,” she said. “It helps me to treat my patients because I understand the mechanisms of their diseases. Research and science are the building blocks of everything.”
Lane is a distinguished professor of medicine and . She’s a translational scientist and rheumatologist, specializing in diseases of the immune system.
Since the beginning of her career, Lane has focused on osteoarthritis and osteoporosis. Lane defines osteoarthritis as a degenerative disease of joints, and osteoporosis as the loss of bone, leading to bone fragility and fractures.
She completed medical school at UC San Franciso and a residency at Mount Zion Hospital and Medical Center before completing a rheumatology fellowship at Stanford University Medical Center.
“I was mentored and trained in basic research in the laboratory and clinical research,” Lane said. “Our group then went on to do groundbreaking studies in determining that the bone forming agent, parathyroid hormone, could reverse the terrible bone loss seen with steroids.”
In , Lane and her mentor shared that runners over 50 didn’t have higher rates of osteoarthritis and had higher bone density than their peers who didn’t run.
“So not only did we identify they didn't have more arthritis, but exercise was good for longevity.” Lane said the findings were invigorating.
Lane was an assistant professor at UCSF before joining Health in 2005, where she formed the . As the founding director, she recruited scientists and clinicians to continue studying the epidemiology of osteoarthritis.
Lane is also the director of the National Institute of Health’s Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women's Health, or . In addition, she’s the principal investigator of a program on , funded by the National Institute of Health, or NIH. In 2013, Lane was elected to the National Academy of Medicine.
After her first study made a splash, the groundbreaking discoveries have continued throughout Lane’s career.
In 2012, the awarded Lane $20 million to continue research on a new molecule known as LLP2A-Aledonrate. The team hoped to pair the newly patented molecule with stem cells to direct and promote new bone growth in patients with osteoporosis or similar degenerative bone and joint diseases.
In 2017, Lane and her team to continue to test the safety of LLP2A-Alendronate. The research is now in Phase II, Clinical Studies.
A breakthrough decades in the making
Lane is the co-author of a recent that identified the Maternal Brain Hormone (called CCN3), a molecule that, according to Lane, stimulates the skeletal stem cell to make bone. It’s also what protects a mother’s bones when breastfeeding.
While the study is new, the research started over two decades ago.
AMONG THE ACADEMIES
has more than 50 faculty members who belong to the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, a recognition of their distinguished and continuing achievements in research. The academies are among the most prestigious membership organizations in the world.
Each month, Dateline will profile one of these faculty members in honor of their contributions to scientific research and knowledge.
“The thing about research is, if you stay the course, there's never a dull moment,” said Lane.
Lane and her team were studying bone mass in mice, looking at progesterone receptors and osteoarthritis. After hitting a dead end, the team paused the work indefinitely. Several years ago, they received a call from an investigator at UC San Francisco, asking about their work.
Together with the Ingraham Lab at UCSF, Lane and her lab identified CCN3. CCN3 could lead to a better understanding of diseases like osteoarthritis or osteoporosis, as well as new treatments. Lane has embraced teamwork and collaboration like this throughout her career.
“It does take a village to answer some of these scientific questions,” said Lane. “It becomes really a community, a village to get these studies done. You don't have to do everything, but you participate as a team. I think team science is just the most exciting thing that has come out of science and academia.”
It’s a mentality that Lane hopes researchers and translational scientists continue to embrace.
“You have to surround yourself with really good people that challenge you to do better.”
A legacy outside of the lab
Looking back on her career, Lane views one of her greatest achievements as training and mentoring junior scientists on how to navigate research and academia.
“About 15 to 20 years ago it became clear at the NIH that we were not funding junior investigators in musculoskeletal diseases,” she said.
Hoping to change this, Lane and several colleagues started the Young Investigators Workshop with the to mentor junior faculty members.
Lane is incredibly proud of this — and for good reason. Since the first workshop in 2005, more than 500 junior investigators have attended, leading to a 45% funding success rate and millions of dollars in funding.
“It's been exceptionally successful,” Lane said. “I feel like I have added to and translated my excitement for science to the next generation.”
In recognition of more than 30 years of contributions to the scientific community, Lane was elected to the National Academy of Medicine in 2013 and the National Academy of Inventors in 2022. She is proud to be a member of both organizations, recognizing the power of collaboration and the support of her peers.
“There's a big community of scientists, and my science has always, always been improved by sharing it and getting ideas from other people.”
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Rachel LaBud is a writer with Health Public Affairs and Marketing, and can be reached by email.