The Orthotics and Prosthetics Foundation for Education and Research named its spring 2025 microgrant recipients. The O&P Foundation’s Microgrant Program awards one-year grants of $2,000 to support clinically relevant activities and projects.
Recipients are:
Jennifer Richards, MA, CPO, “Treatment Outcomes Following Orthotic Interventions for Pectus Carinatum”
Richards has worked in O&P for over 20 years and has a master’s degree in education. She has practiced in private practices and at large institutions in five states. She taught orthotics at Northwestern University and physical therapy at the University of Maryland and the University of Wisconsin. She currently teaches a Clinical Gait Analysis course in the Kinesiology Department at the University of Michigan. She’s been doing clinical outcomes research for five years and has published her work in the Journal of Prosthetics and Orthotics and in Prosthetics Orthotics International. She was awarded the Howard R. Thranhardt Lecture Award in 2024 for her clinical outcomes research on cranial remolded orthosis treatment. 
Christopher Hovorka, PhD, MS, CPO, FAAOP, “Effectiveness of a Novel Amputated Limb Simulator for Teaching Clinical Skills in Prosthetics”
Hovorka is an assistant professor in Baylor College of Medicine’s O&P program. In his role, he is evaluating the use of simulation-based training to enhance learners’ clinical skills in lower-limb orthotics and prosthetics. He also teaches courses in lower-limb orthotic management, health research methods, pathophysiology, ethics, and practice management. Over his career, he has held multiple teaching and research faculty positions at institutions such as the Center for the Intrepid/Brooke Army Medical Center, University of Pittsburgh, Georgia Tech, and Emory University School of Medicine. 
The microgrants aim to empower health professionals, researchers, students, and residents to pursue projects and activities that may contribute to clinical care in O&P. The grants, based on the scholarly merit and clinical relevance of the proposed activity/project, are awarded in the spring and fall.
