American Association for Hand Surgery

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.

Clinician/Teacher of the Year recipients:

1995	Forst E. Brown, MD	1996	Robert Beckenbaugh, MD
1997	James Hoehn, MD	1998	Alan Freeland, MD
1999	Wyndell Merritt, MD	2000	Peter Amadio, MD
2002	Anthony DeSantolo, MD Michael Jabaley, MD Maureen Hardy Sterling Mutz, MD	2003	Richard Brown, MD Sue Michlovitz, PT, PhD, CHT
2004	Nash Naam, MD	2007	Miguel Saldana, 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.

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.

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.

Lean & Green Award recipients:

2021	Donald Lalonde 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,

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
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
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

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.

Vargas Award recipients:

2020	Kimberly G. Kraft, PT, DPT, CHT Ghana	2019	Lisa Flewelling Ghana
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
2014	Gayle Severance, MS, OTR/L Ghana	2013	Julianne Howell, PT, MS, CHT Guatemala
2010	Paula Galaviz, MS, OTR, CHT Armenia	2009	Donna Breger Stanton, MA, OTR/L, CHT, FAOTA Thailand
2008	Mary Nordlie, MA, OTR, CHT Egypt	2006	Donna Pendleton, PT, CHT Lorna Ramos Cluj-Napoca, Romania
2005	Emily Altman PT, CHT Ecuador	2004	Sharon Dest, OTR/L, CHT Paula Galaviz, OTR/L, CHT Guatemala
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
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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