In 2009, the Orthotic and Prosthetic Education and Research Foundation (OPERF) established an awards program designed to encourage and stimulate research at all levels in the O&P profession. It included awards at three funding levels, designed to support investigator-initiated research ($25,000), graduate-fellow research ($5,000), and resident-conducted research ($1,000).
Researchers, physicians, students, and residents from around the country applied for the awards, and OPERF stated in a press release that its board of directors “was very pleased with the diversity and quality of this year’s submissions, which demonstrate that O&P research is greatly needed.”
According to OPERF, each award application was reviewed in-depth by volunteer expert reviewers from around the world for relevance, merit, and appropriateness. Applicants were scored and ranked in a competitive evaluation to select those who would receive funding. Every applicant, regardless of funding, received detailed feedback regarding their submissions, including comments and considerations that may help to improve their research and stimulate new ideas. The winners of the 2009 awards are listed below:
Small Grant Award
The winner of the Small Grant Award was Joan Sanders, PhD, of the University of Washington, for her paper, “How Does Socket Volume Affect Limb Volume in Transtibial Amputee Patients?”
Fellowship Awards
The winner of one Fellowship Award was Sara Koehler, MS, of Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois, for her paper, “Transfemoral Amputee Gait as it Relates to Prosthetic Alignment.”
The winner of the second Fellowship Award was Andrew Sawers, CPO, of the University of Washington, for his paper, “Estimation of the Axis of Rotation Position in Non-articulated Energy Storage and Return Prosthetic Foot-Ankle Mechanisms: Implications for Prosthetic Foot Efficiency and Motor Control Strategies in Unilateral Transtibial Amputees.”
Resident Travel Award
The winner of the Resident Travel Award was Brian Ardnt, of Suburban O&P, Des Plaines, Illinois, for his paper, “Case Study: Use of a Partial Foot Prosthesis Under Elevated Vacuum.”
The foundation concluded, “OPERF congratulates this year’s award recipients and thanks everyone who applied to the 2009 Awards Program. The foundation is very encouraged at the excitement generated by our first research awards, and we look forward to the day when we are able to offer additional opportunities for funding, larger research awards, and targeted areas of research that address O&P’s most pressing research needs. In the coming year OPERF will be adding education awards.”
For more information, visit www.operf.org
