Research Grants Program

Congratulations to the 2025 AOFAS Research Grant recipients! AOFAS awarded more than $230,000 in grants to the projects listed below.

Since 1997, AOFAS has awarded more than $2.5 million in grant funding for AOFAS members and their research teams. These grants provide vital resources to discover new treatments and advance patient care.

View the full list of past AOFAS Research Grant recipients.

2025 Research Grant Recipients

Resident Award

A Not-So-Silent Threat: The Impact of Surgical Suction Devices on Noise in the Foot and Ankle Operating Room
Daniel Santana, MD, MS; Mentor: Eric Giza, MD

Contact Pressures During Lower Extremity Immobilization: A Biomechanical Study
Erik Nakken, MD; Mentor: James Holmes, MD

Early Career Award

The Passive Collection of Wearable Data and Self-Reported Outcomes in Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Patients
David Jaffe, MD

Long-Term Outcomes Following Reconstruction of the Flexible Progressive Collapsing Foot Deformity
Matthew Conti, MD

Small Project Grants

The Efficacy of TMR in Diabetic Neuroma Pain Reduction
Edward Lee, MD, MS

Nonpsychotropic Cannabinoids May Enhance Fracture Healing in a Murine Neuropathic Model
Ashlee MacDonald, MD

Biological and Histological Analysis of Zadek Calcaneal Osteotomy vs Open Achilles Tendon Splitting Procedure for Insertional Achilles Tendinosis
Tyler Gonzalez, MD, MBA

Adenosine Therapy to Treat Charcot Arthropathy
Samuel Adams, MD

Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation in Foot and Ankle Surgery: A Randomized Controlled Trial
Raymond J. Walls, MD

Established Project Grants

Validation of Novel Biomarkers to Differentiate Foot and Ankle Infections from Inflammatory Arthritis
Irvin Oh, MD

Lower Extremity Gait, Mobility and Balance Confidence in Charcot-Marie-Tooth Patients with Cavovarus Foot Deformity
Bopha Chrea, MD

Grant Categories

New primary investigators who have not yet received AOFAS Research Grant funding will receive an additional 10% on their grants' scores.

The AOFAS awards one-year research grants (May 1 to April 30) in three categories:

Pilot Project Grants (up to $5,000)

Grant recipients are expected to use data obtained from the projects to develop future grant applications.

Resident Award – awarded to an orthopaedic MD or DO resident who engages a named mentor (AOFAS Active or International Member) to serve as the CI on a research grant project.

Small Project Research Grants (up to $20,000)

The core grant category, providing seed funding for promising research projects.

Early Career Award – awarded to a researcher less than 10 years out of fellowship. The Early Career Award can only be awarded to an investigator once, but prior awardees of Pilot Project Grants and the AOFAS Resident Award are eligible.

Established Project Research Grants (up to $50,000)

This competitive grant category is intended to support innovative research for basic science, a clinical trial, or pre-trial work that could be used to obtain additional grants from national funding sources. Applications must be backed by preliminary work, data, and/or publications or abstracts to demonstrate feasibility of projects and capabilities of the research team.

Review Process

Applications are reviewed and ranked by the Research Committee on a competitive basis using a blinded NIH-style process. Any committee member or reviewer, including the Board liaisons, with any real or perceived conflict of interest with respect to a grant application is recused from deliberations and scoring of the application.

Grant recipients will be announced in early 2025.

Eligibility

Access to AOFAS Research Grants is a benefit of AOFAS membership. Either the principal investigator or co-investigator on an application must be an AOFAS member in good standing in one of the following membership categories:

• Active Member

• Candidate Member

• International Member

• Associate Member

Surgeon in Training, International Surgeon in Training, MD Affiliate, Honorary, and Allied Health/Associate-Basic Science Members may apply with an AOFAS Active, Candidate, International, or Associate Member as a primary investigator or co-investigator. To determine your eligibility, please see the AOFAS Research Grants Program Policy and Guidelines. 

Questions?

Please contact the AOFAS by email at research@aofas.org or by phone at +1-847-698-4654.