The International Bone & Mineral Society was originally constituted in 1960 as the Parathyroid Conferences. These meetings, triennial events from 1960-1977, presented data and explored the biology related to parathyroid hormone and calcitonin. As the meeting grew and the interests of the participants widened to include osteoporosis, vitamin D and the cellular and molecular biology of bone, a more formal structure was incorporated in 1980 under the name of the International Conferences on Calcium Regulating Hormones (ICCRH). The bylaws of the organization included a mandate for international representation on the Board of Directors, making ICCRH the only truly international society in the bone field. To further stress this healthy evolution into a scientific focus, at the 1995 meeting in Melbourne, the name of the organization was changed to the International Bone and Mineral Society (IBMS). An international focus was an early goal that was not served by local or regional societies. Furthermore, there were increasing numbers of participants at the successive conferences, including joint meetings, with the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research (first joint meeting in 1989), the European Calcified Tissue Society (first joint meeting in 2001), the Japanese Bone and Mineral Society (first joint meeting in 2003) and the Australia and New Zealand Bone and Mineral Society.

The IBMS mission is to facilitate the generation and dissemination of knowledge of bone and mineral metabolism through communication, community, training, and multi-disciplinary meetings throughout the world. 

Scientific Publishing

Two scientific journals, Bone and Mineral and Bone, merged together to form Bone. This monthly publication became the official journal of IBMS, and has become a leader in the field, publishing top-notch, peer-reviewed content on both the basic science and clinical sides. 

IBMS started publishing IBMS BoneKEy in 2001 as an online open-access knowledge environment that has, over the years, become a successful and highly regarded source of scientific articles and information for bone scientists. IBMS selected Nature Publishing Group (NPG) as the new publisher of IBMS BoneKEy in 2011, with a launch of the new platform in January of 2012. In addition to the previously existing knowledge environment, IBMS created a new online journal, BoneKEy Reports, which aspires to share company with the top journals in the bone field.

BoneKEy Reports is a core biomedical journal that covers the full breadth of the bone field. Articles will provide comprehensive reviews on the latest and hottest research discoveries, technical developments, as well as on the management of osteoporosis and bone and mineral disorders. BoneKey Reports is also unique in the field by providing monthly reviews on basic and clinical research in cancer and bone, as well as regular updates on osteoporosis genetics.

The launch of a journal owned by the Society was an important decision for IBMS, BoneKEy Reports is the official journal following the end of our relationship with Bone on 31 December 2012. 

Community and Training

IBMS' focus on new investigators has been spearheaded by the Young Investigator (YI) committee, established in 2008. The YI committee has created specific sessions and activities for IBMS Scientific Meetings around training, networking and the advancement of careers. IBMS also supports YI's through the Gideon and Sevgi Rodan fellowship established in 2004 and the Gregory R. Mundy fellowship on cancer-induced bone disease established in 2011, as well as by providing YIs with travel grants to attend IBMS Scientific Meetings.

IBMS launched an online BoneKEy Community in January 2012. In 2013, IBMS launched local language communities in Chinese and in Spanish for the growing scientific communities in China and South America.

In 2013, IBMS launched its Member Society initiative, where national or regional societies in the bone and mineral metabolism area can participate, providing their members with all of the benefits of IBMS membership and joining forces with IBMS on collaborative projects.

Multi-disciplinary Meetings

IBMS has helped numerous other societies grow their meetings by holding joint meetings, and has provided infrastructure to smaller subgroups in the bone field such as Comparative Endocrinology and the International Conference on Children’s Bone Health. In 2010, the Cancer and Bone Society became part of IBMS. Today, the IBMS and the Cancer and Bone Advisory Committee plan and implement the annual International Conference on Cancer-Induced Bone Disease (CIBD), promote and support the Gregory R. Mundy fellowship as well as the BoneKEy Oncology publishing portal.

IBMS moves its international scientific meeting around the globe, rotating between North America, Europe and the Pacific Rim, and continues to hold joint meetings with local or regional bone societies where relevant in a particular region.

IBMS is the organizer of the international Sun Valley workshop since 2008. IBMS also co-organizes the International Conference on Osteoporosis and Bone Disease (ICOBR) held every two years in China, in collaboration with the International Chinese Hard Tissue Society (ICHTS) and the Chinese Society of Osteoporosis and Bone and Mineral Research (CSOBMR).

Through its diverse international programing, IBMS strives to achieve its vision to create and nurture a global scientific network dedicated to promoting bone health.