UConn Health

October 22, 2026 | Chris DeFrancesco '94 (CLAS)

National Leadership Role for UConn Health’s Dr. Marja Hurley

Starting 1-year term as president of American Society for Bone and Mineral Research

portrait two women, one passing gavel to the other

Emma Duncan, outgoing president of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research, passes the gavel to her successor, UConn Health’s Dr. Marja Hurley (right), at the ASBMR’s annual meeting in Boston, Oct. 13, 2026. (David Fox Photography)

UConn Heath’s Dr. Marja Hurley will lead the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research for the next year.

The ASBMR inducted Hurley, a Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor and associate dean of the Health Career Opportunity Programs at UConn Health, at its annual meeting in Boston Oct. 13.

Her election recognizes Hurley’s more than three decades of leadership in bone and mineral research, medical education, mentorship, and service to the scientific community, as well has her service on ASBMR’s Publications, Membership Development, Annual Meeting Program, and Women in Bone and Mineral Research committees. She also is an ASBMR fellow.

Portrait of six indoors
UConn Health’s Dr. Marja Hurley (third from right) is president of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research through October 2027. Joining her at her induction are (from left) ASBMR Executive Director Judy Keen, immediate past President Emma Duncan, past Secretary/Treasurer Rene St. Arnaud, Secretary/Treasurer Eileen Shore, and past President Jennifer Westendorf. (David Fox Photography)

“Her longstanding engagement reflects a deep commitment to advancing ASBMR’s mission of promoting excellence in research, education, and clinical practice in the field of bone, mineral, and musculoskeletal science,” the ASBMR said in its announcement.

Hurley’s research, which has advanced understanding of the role of fibroblast growth factor in skeletal biology, osteoporosis, facture repair, osteoarthritis, phosphate homeostasis, and bone disease associated with sickle cell disease, has earned her international renown. Her laboratory has maintained continuous external funding for her research on the molecular mechanisms underlying skeletal health and disease.

“We will work tirelessly to make ASBMR the professional home for scientists and clinicians at every career stage,” Hurley said in her remarks at her induction. “At the same time, we will deepen our strategic connections with fields inextricably linked to bone health — including hematology, nephrology, immunology, endocrinology, neuroscience, and beyond.”

Hurley also is the founding director of the Aetna Health Professions Partnership Initiative at UConn Health, part of the Health Career Opportunity Programs, which celebrated a 40-year milestone earlier this month. The Health Career Opportunity Programs offer learning and mentoring experiences for students ranging from middle school to undergraduate, intended to open paths to health and science to those from populations historically underrepresented in those fields.

“It is an incredible honor to be selected by my colleagues in the field of bone and mineral metabolism from around the world to serve as president of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research, especially since my mentor with whom I did my endocrinology fellowship, Dr. Lawrence Raisz, chief of the Division of Endocrinology at UConn Health, was one of the founders of ASBMR,” Hurley says.

Learn more about the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research.