Awards
The Hand Association is proud to honor the following members through its Awards programs.
Clinician/Teacher of the Year
This Clinician/Teacher of the Year honors an individual who has made a major contribution to clinical and/or teaching in the field of hand surgery.
View Clinician/Teacher of the Year recipients
| 2004 |
Nash Naam, MD |
2007 |
Miguel Saldana, MD |
| 2002 |
Anthony DeSantolo, MD
Michael Jabaley, MD
Maureen Hardy
Sterling Mutz, MD |
2003 |
Richard Brown, MD
Sue Michlovitz, PT, PhD, CHT |
1999 |
Wyndell Merritt, MD |
2000 |
Peter Amadio, MD |
| 1997 |
James Hoehn, MD |
1998 |
Alan Freeland, MD |
1995 |
Forst E. Brown, MD |
1996 |
Robert Beckenbaugh, MD |
Humanitarian Award
The Humanitarian Award honors a deserving Association member who has made or continues to regularly make unique or special contributions, and/or personal sacrifices for the betterment of humanitarian efforts.
The AAHS is now accepting nominations for the 2021 Humanitarian Award. Please submit descriptive nominations to the attention of the Awards Committee at contact.org. Please note that self-nominations will not be considered by the Awards Committee and current members of the Award Committee and Board of Directors are ineligible for the Humanitarian Award.
View Humanitarian Award recipients
| 2021 | Marco Rizzo, MD for his longstanding commitment and years of care to some of the most vulnerable and underserved patients in the United States, the patients of the Navaho Nation. |
| 2020 | Miguel Pirela-Cruz, MD |
2019 | Warren Schubert, MD |
2018 | Michael Murphy, MD |
| 2017 | Scott Kozin, MD |
2016 | Lynn Bassini, MA, OTR/L/ CHT |
2015 | Louis L. Carter, M.D. |
HAND Journal Award
The HAND Journal Award is given annually by the Journal Committee to the lead author of a paper which is identified by the Journal Committee, Editorial Board and membership as the most impactful and innovative paper from the previous year’s issues of HAND.
View HAND Journal Award recipients
| 2020 | Independent Variables Affecting Outcome of Carpal Tunnel Release Surgery
Jaqueline Watchmaker, MD |
| 2019 | Postoperative Pain Management Following Carpal Tunnel Release: A Prospective Cohort Evaluation
Andrew Miller, MD, Rothman Institute of Orthopedics, Philadelphia, PA |
| 2018 | A Multicenter, Prospective, Randomized, Pilot Study of Outcomes for Digital Nerve Repair in the Hand Using Hollow Conduit Compared With Processed Allograft Nerve
Kenneth R. Means, Jr., MD, The Curtis National Hand Center at MedStar Union Memorial Hospital, Baltimore, MD |
| 2017 | Achieving the optimal epinephrine effect in wide awake hand surgery using local anesthesia without a tourniquet
Daniel E. Mckee, MD, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada |
| 2016 | A prospective randomized trial comparing the effectiveness of one versus two (staged) corticosteroid injections for the treatment of stenosing tenosynovitis
Emran Sheikh, MD, MALO Health & Wellness, Rutherford, NJ |
Lean & Green Award
The Lean & Green Award honors an AAHS member who has decreased the amount of waste generated by any activity related to hand surgery or therapy as well as decreased the total costs related to hand surgery or therapy, within their home institution or elsewhere. The qualifying contributions of this individual could include publications, presentations or other actions that had a significant impact on reducing the garbage production and/or costs of any activity related to hand surgery or therapy.
The AAHS is now accepting nominations for the 2021 Lean & Green Award. Please submit descriptive nominations to the attention of the Awards Committee at contact@handsurgery.org. Please note that self-nominations will not be considered by the Awards Committee and current members of the Award Committee and Board of Directors are ineligible for the Lean & Green Award.
View Lean & Green Award recipients
| 2022 | Steven Koehler, MD for published work promoting lean and green surgery and WALANT, including excellent open access video demonstrations with availability to developing parts of the world.
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| 2021 | Donald Lalonde, MD for his commitment to and promotion of economic and environmental conscience practices in hand surgery, particularly development of WALANT, promotion of WALANT around the globe among both developed and underserved communities, and his Wide Awake Hand Surgery book. |
| 2020 | Joshua Abzug, MD |
2019 | Peter J. L. Jebson, MD |
| 2018 | Peter C. Rhee, DO |
2017 | Robert E. Van Demark, MD |
2016 | Mark E. Baratz, MD |
Resident Annual Meeting Presentation Award
The Resident Annual Meeting Presentation Award is given to a resident who has been identified by the Program Committee as having the best trainee presentation of the Annual Meeting,
View Resident Annual Meeting Presentation Award recipients
| 2019 |
The Effects of Porcine Extracellular Matrix Nerve Wrap as an Adjunct to Primary Epineurial Repair
Philip J. Hanwright, MD
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD
Multimodal Pain Management Regimen in Upper Extremity Trauma - A Randomized Controlled Blinded Study
Julian Zangrilli, DO
Jefferson Health, Stratford, NJ
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| 2018 |
Elbow Trauma and Plasminogen Deficiency Showing Functional Deficits in an Animal Model
Mihir J. Desai, MD
Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN
Long-Term Effects of Radiation Therapy for Benign Conditions of the Hand
Kalila Steen, MD
University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
|
| 2017 |
Intratendinous Injection of Hydrogel for Reseeding Decellularized Human Flexor Tendons
Chao Long, MD
Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA
Infection Rates of Buried vs. Exposed Kirschner Wires in Phalangeal, Metacarpal, and Distal Radius Fractures
TJ Ridley, MD
University of Minnesota, St Paul, MN
|
| 2016 |
A Randomized, Double-Blinded, Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trial Assessing the Therapeutic Efficacy of Botulinum Toxin in Treating Scleroderma-Associated Raynaud's Phenomenon
Ricardo J. Bello, MD, MPH
Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD
Metacarpophalangeal Arthroplasty for the Management of Inflammatory Arthritis; An Analysis of 583 Arthroplasties
Eric Wagner, MD
Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN
|
| 2015 |
Early Active Motion Versus Protective Splinting Following Open Carpal Tunnel Release Surgery
Blake D. Murphy, MD
Division of Plastic Surgery, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
PCLF as a Backbone for Chondrocyte Attachment and Proliferation Augmented by Platelet Lysate
Eric Wagner, MD
Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN
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| 2014 |
Changes in Blood Glucose Levels after Corticosteroid Injection in the Hand & Wrist
Daniel London, MD
Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Washington University, St. Louis School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO
|
| 2013 |
Long Term Outcomes of Proximal Row Carpectomy- A Systematic Review
Harvey Chim, MD
Department of Plastic Surgery, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH
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Vargas Award
The Vargas International Hand Therapy Teaching Award is named in honor of Dr. Miguel Vargas, a hand surgeon who practiced in Puerto Rico and was an international emissary for education. The Award is an outgrowth of the AAHS's mission. Its intent is therapy outreach - to foster an exchange of educational ideas between therapists in the AAHS and in the host country to result in improved patient care for upper extremity problems. The Vargas Award is hand therapy education driven. Education is the foremost purpose and mission of the Award, with a portion of the trip emphasizing hands-on postoperative care of the upper extremity in host countries where surgery is applicable and possible. As volunteers, awardees collaborate with others to provide informative hands-on training to improve patient care and host site education.
View Vargas Award recipients
| 2020 |
Kimberly G. Kraft, PT, DPT, CHT
Ghana
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2019 |
Lisa Flewelling
Ghana
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| 2018 |
Susan Blackmore, MS, OTR/L
Bhutan
|
2017 |
Catherine M. Sullivan, BScPT
Ghana
|
2016 |
Aviva Wolff, OTR/L, MA, CHT
Guatemala
|
2015 |
Adam Crelling, MS
Ghana
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| 2014 |
Gayle Severance, MS, OTR/L
Ghana
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2013 |
Julianne Howell, PT, MS, CHT
Guatemala
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2010 |
Paula Galaviz, MS, OTR, CHT
Armenia
|
2009 |
Donna Breger Stanton, MA, OTR/L, CHT, FAOTA
Thailand
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| 2008 |
Mary Nordlie, MA, OTR, CHT
Egypt
|
2006 |
Donna Pendleton, PT, CHT
Lorna Ramos
Cluj-Napoca, Romania
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2005 |
Emily Altman PT, CHT
Ecuador
|
2004 |
Sharon Dest, OTR/L, CHT
Paula Galaviz, OTR/L, CHT
Guatemala
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| 2003 |
Paul Brach, PT, CHT
Susan Michlovitz, PT, PhD, CHT
Brian Adams, MD
Lee Osterman, MD
Chinle, Arizona
|
2002 |
Veronica Fernandez, PT
Alan Freeland, MD
Miguel Saldana, MD
Mark Baratz, MD
Various US Locations
|
2001 |
Gail Groth, OTR/L, CHT, MHS
Scott Kozin, MD
Uganda
|
2000 |
Karen Henehan-Flink, OTR/L, CHT
Terry Light, MD
Lithuania
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| 1999 |
Katherine Ann Schofield, OTR, CHT
Nash Naam, MD
Egypt
|
1998 |
Lynn Bassini, MA/OTR, CHT
Alan Freeland, MD
Venezuela
|
1997 |
Colette Jewell, ORT/CHT
Paul Weeks, MD
Kenya
|
1996 |
Lynne Feehan, MScPT
Somprasong Songcharoen, MD
Thailand
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