Exploring new ways to prevent bone deformities

Bones are crucial to long-term health because they provide structural support and enable mobility. However, pathological bone growth is common in some patient groups, leading to significant clinical problems. Mechanical loading plays a central role in bone growth, but the exact conditions that promote normal growth or lead to pathological growth are still unclear. The ERC-funded INSIDE-BONE project aims to close this knowledge gap: Biomechanist Hans Kainz and his team are investigating the relationship between musculoskeletal anatomy, activities of daily living, mechanical stress and bone growth - both in children with normal development and in children with pathological bone growth. The aim of the research is to find new ways of preventing and treating pathological bone growth.

About Hans Kainz

Hans Kainz received his PhD in Biomechanics from Griffith University (Australia) in 2016. He worked as a rehabilitation engineer at Queensland Children's Hospital (2014-2016) and was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at KU Leuven (Belgium) from 2017 to 2020. In 2020, Kainz joined the University of Vienna as Assistant Professor of Neuromechanics, where he founded the Neuromechanics Research Group, and became Associate Professor in 2024. Kainz's group combines in-silico simulations with experimental data to improve the understanding of typical and pathological movements. His work aims to improve clinical decision making for people with movement disorders and evidence-based motor rehabilitation after injury or orthopaedic surgery.