Aims:

(i) Identify genetic determinants of bone related phenotypes, in particular those affecting bone acquisition and growth, using a combination of cutting edge genetic technologies, high resolution phenotypes, and established and novel analytical approaches

(ii) Identify common and rare genetic variants that influence molecular phenotypes (methylation, expression, and the metabolome), and use these variants as well as allelic scores that index them, to identify potentially modifiable biomarkers that affect BMD, high bone mass and osteoporosis (i.e. "mining the phenome using allelic scores")

(iii) Utilize the MR approach and extensions of this methodology to determine whether the associations identified in (ii) are likely to represent causal relationships and to formally quantify these relationships through instrumental variables analyses