The Silent Scale of Bone Fragility: Gaps and Advances in Lacunar-Level Mechanobiology

Bone strength and fracture risk cannot be fully explained by bone mineral density or large-scale architecture alone. At the core of this limitation lies a largely unexplored dimension: the lacunar scale, where osteocytes sense mechanical stimuli and regulate bone adaptation.

This talk addresses the critical knowledge gap between cellular-scale alterations and clinically observable bone fragility. Dr. Buccino will present recent advances combining synchrotron-based imaging, in situ mechanical testing, and AI-driven analysis to reveal how lacunar morphology and network organization influence stress localization, crack initiation, and fracture propagation.

Special attention will be given to:

• The role of loading history in shaping bone morpho-mechanical properties
• Osteoporosis-related alterations at the lacunar level, invisible at larger scales
• Emerging evidence of COVID-19–related microstructural damage, linked to inflammation, altered metabolism, and immobilization

The findings show that lacunar geometry is a highly sensitive indicator of both mechanical environment and pathological state, opening new perspectives for predictive and clinically actionable models of bone fragility.

Speaker bio
Federica Buccino is a Researcher at the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Politecnico di Milano, working within Prof. Vergani’s fracture mechanics group. Her research focuses on multiscale bone fragility and the development of bio-inspired materials from waste-derived resources.
She is Principal Investigator of the IDEM project (Italian Science Fund, 2025), a member of the coordination teams of the MSCA GAP and EIC Pathfinder Challenges PANTAREI projects, and serves as Work Package Leader in both. Her work has been recognized with several awards, including the AIAS Award (2022), Capocaccia Award (2021), and the Ermenegildo Zegna Fellowship supporting her research at ETH Zurich.