Mechano-dependency of early bone healing and angiogenesis will be the focus of Duda and Gerhardt. This project aims to understand how mechanical loading drives vascular proliferation and callus organisation during early bone healing in an age dependent manner. It will focus on key cell-cell interactions in early cell-matrix self-assembly and on forces exerted by either blood flow or extrinsic loading and their consequences for functional vascularisation and bone marrow reconstitution. Duda and Gerhardt hypothesise that core mechanisms of endothelial and pericyte organisation – more specifically YAP/TAZ signalling – are modulated in their mechano-sensitivity during early bone healing. They further hypothesise that YAP/TAZ signalling is affected by advanced age and leads to a lack of mechano-sensation in cells of aged individuals but may be rescued by extrinsic mechanical perturbations.