Research & Policy

Research & Policy > Research Collaboration > Clinician Scholar Career Development Program


Clinician Scholar Career Development Program

 

Applications for AOFAS-sponsored spots in the 2025 Clinician Scholar Career Development Program are now closed.

The Orthopaedic Research Society (ORS) Clinician Scholar Career Development Program (CSCDP) is a comprehensive training workshop designed to encourage and educate future orthopaedic clinician-scientists and investigators. Session topics include Beginning Your Career as a Clinician-Scientist, Building Blocks for a Successful Clinician-Scientist Career, Work-Life Balance, and Resources and Opportunities for Research Funding.

The annual program is open to residents in PGY-2 to PGY-5, fellows, and junior faculty through year three who have the potential and desire to become orthopaedic clinician-scientists.

AOFAS sponsors 1-2 members to participate in the CSCDP each year. The 2025 workshop will take place October 2-4, 2025, in Rosemont, Illinois.

Past Participants

Albert Anastasio, MD

Albert T. Anastasio, MD
2024

"I found the CSCDP to be immensely helpful in learning what goes into an academic career in orthopaedic surgery. The faculty provided a masterclass on grant writing, collaboration with basic scientists, obtaining balance between clinical and research endeavors, and most importantly, determining your specific area of focus and passion. I am deeply grateful to the AOFAS for sponsoring my attendance and recommend the program highly."

 

Edward Haupt, MD

Edward T. Haupt, MD
2024

"I'm very grateful to have attended the CSCDP as an early-career researcher. There was an all-star faculty providing talks and mentorship. There was information about applying for grants and other topics that will help me get to the next step as a clinician scholar. Importantly, there was also a lot of information about career planning that I thought was very well delivered. I left the meeting better than I came and I'm eager to apply these things back home."

 

Lorraine A.T. Boakye, MD

Lorraine A.T. Boakye, MD
2023

"The CSCDP was an incredible opportunity to develop a network of orthopaedic surgeon scientists who are similarly committed to advancing the field through evidence-based research. It was a comprehensive, thoughtfully curated weekend that armed us with resources, data, and insight to drive our careers. I am incredibly grateful to AOFAS for their sponsorship and to my mentors for their support."

 

Jensen K. Henry, MD

Jensen K. Henry, MD
2023

"The CSCDP was better than anything I could have expected. The speakers were dynamic, empathetic, and gave motivating and pragmatic advice to build a career as a clinician-scholar. I returned home to my institution energized and full of ideas to build and lead programmatic research."

 

Matthew S. Conti, MD

Matthew S. Conti, MD
2022

"The CSCDP program provides a solid foundation for young clinical-scientists to build a research career. One of the highlights of the course is connecting with leaders in the field to discuss their experiences, get advice on avoiding pitfalls, and illuminate numerous paths to success. It has helped me transition from executing others’ research ideas to developing and implementing my own."

 

Daniel J. Scott, MD, MBA

Daniel J. Scott, MD, MBA
2022

"The CSCDP was a wonderful two days focused on (among other things) building collaborative relationships, mentorship, expanding research opportunities, funding sources, and networking. I strongly recommend this program to anyone truly interested in making a lasting impact in clinical or basic science orthopaedic research."

 

Daniel Bohl, MD, MPH

Daniel D. Bohl, MD, MPH
2021

"The CSCDP was a 48-hour immersion into the world of an orthopaedic clinician-scientist and featured a 'who's who' of the most prominent orthopaedic researchers nationwide. I recommend this program to anyone who is towards the beginning of their orthopaedic career and is serious about making a difference through clinical or basic orthopaedic research."

 

Natalie R. Danna, MD

Natalie R. Danna, MD
2021

"The CSCDP was comprehensive. Speakers addressed idea generation, funding opportunities, scholarly writing, academic promotion, time management, and work/life balance. The faculty was engaging and approachable. Rather than feeling fried after hours of presentations and discussions, I felt invigorated and excited for the opportunities ahead."

 

Niall Smyth, MD

Niall A. Smyth, MD
2019

"The CSCDP allows the attendees extensive insight into what is required to obtain extramural funding, from local grants all the way to federal dollars. One thing made abundantly clear was that it is not easy! That being said, attending this course lays the groundwork to embark on a rewarding academic career."

 

Christopher Reb, DO

Christopher W. Reb, DO
2019

"The opportunities to gain insights were everywhere... Much time was allocated to encouraging introspection and cultivating peer-to-peer conversations. In these dialogues, I encountered much empathy, new ideas, and opportunities to mentor and be mentored."

 

Michael C. Aynardi, MD

Michael C. Aynardi, MD
2018

"While I learned a lot about additional opportunities and research tips to help progress my ideas, the most valuable aspects were the networking and connections I developed with the faculty who are all highly accomplished scientists in orthopaedics... I would highly recommend this program."

 

Jonathan Kaplan, MD

Jonathan R.M. Kaplan, MD
2018

"As clinician scholars we had the opportunity to hear firsthand experiences from faculty members with a wide array of backgrounds... Upon leaving the CSCDP I have already developed a series of program ideas to take back to my institution and research team."