Research Development Committee

Kappa Delta Award/OREF Clinical Research Award: Instructions

Kappa Delta and OREF Research Awards

The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons is soliciting manuscripts for the 2010 Kappa Delta Awards and the Orthopaedic Research and Education Foundation (OREF) Clinical Research Award. Up to two $20,000 Kappa Delta awards, one $20,000 Kappa Delta Young Investigator award, and one $20,000 OREF award will be bestowed, provided manuscripts of requisite quality are submitted.

Manuscripts should represent a body of cohesive scientific work generally reflecting years of investigation. If the submission reflects a single project, it should be of high significance and impact. Manuscripts should not be under consideration for publication and should not have been published elsewhere. The lead author of the manuscript must be a member (or candidate member) of the AAOS, ORS, Canadian Orthopaedic Association (COA), or Canadian Orthopaedic Research Society (CORS).

Please Note: Submissions failing to follow the above guidelines or instructions may not be considered.

Submission Guidelines

For All Research Awards:

• Authors should identify the award for which their manuscript is considered most appropriate on the first page of the application (by stating, for example, “Submitted for the Kappa Delta Award”).
• Manuscripts must be original and written specifically for this award.
• Authors should indicate if the manuscript has been submitted previously, and, if any of the authors have previously won a Kappa Delta Award. Preference will be given to those researchers who have not previously won the award.

For the Kappa Delta and Kappa Delta Young Investigator Awards:

• Manuscripts should focus on the results of the author’s basic and/or clinical research that relates to the musculoskeletal system.
• The principal investigator submitting a manuscript for the Kappa Delta Young Investigator Award must be under 40 years of age or no more than seven years beyond training. The cover page should indicate the eligibility (statement of age or year training completed)
• Investigators submitting a manuscript for the Kappa Delta Young Investigator Award must include a letter of support from the laboratory director or department chair.

For the OREF Clinical Research Award:

• Manuscripts must involve clinical research related directly to musculoskeletal disease or injury.
• Basic science studies that involve human tissues will not be considered in this category.

Instructions for All Award Submissions

1. Manuscript (not to exceed 30 pages):
• Format: 12-point font, double spaced, one inch margins, 8.5 x 11 white paper, numbered pages
• Binding: Please ensure the entire application is bound together. Failure to follow these instructions will result in the submission being withdrawn without consideration.
• Photos/Charts/Graphs/Tables: If photographs are used, please include one set of originals with each of the fifteen copies of the manuscript. If digital images are used, these reproductions must be clear.
• Title Page: The title/cover page should include the manuscript title, the names, affiliations, and complete contact information of the authors,the award for which the manuscript is submitted, and for Young Investigators Award applicants only, the age(s) and year terminal degree completed for each applicant.
• References: References should follow the format required by the Journal of Orthopaedic Research.
• Length: Not to exceed 30 pages (including photos, charts, graphs, tables, and references.). Documents that are requested in support of the application (Title page, summary of clinical relevance, disclosure statements of funding, summary of investigator’s work leading to submitted document, description of all authors’ roles in project, and author CVs) are not included in this 30 page limit. Any additional addenda will NOT be reviewed.
• DO NOT include nominations for the award, letters of support, explanations of the data, or any other nonspecified materials.
2. Supporting Documents:
• Summary of clinical relevance.
• Disclosure statements of funding and any potential conflicts of interest.
• A brief summary of the investigator’s work leading to the submitted document should be provided for manuscripts representing a comprehensive body of work.
• A brief description of the investigator’s role in the project on which the paper is based should be provided. For papers with multiple authors, a description of each author’s role in the project is required.
• Separate CVs for each author should be included. The NIH short CV Form (a four-page format), including a relevant bibliography should be used. Authors must be limited to those who have made a significant scientific contribution to the manuscript. A template and sample are available at http://grants1.nih.gov/grants/funding/phs398/biosketchsample.doc.
3. Electronic Copy of the Manuscript and Supporting Documents:
• Please put your electronic copy (MS Word or PDF) of both your manuscript and supporting documents on a CD-ROM. Be sure to clearly identify all parts of the submission if they are in separate files.

Neither electronic nor hard copy manuscripts will be returned to authors.

A submission checklist is attached for your convenience. (in PDF format)

Forward seventeen copies of the complete submission (including all supporting documents) by July 1, 2009. This is the DUE date, not the postmark date.

Send to:

American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons

Kappa Delta/OREF Awards

Attn: Erin L. Ransford, Medical Research Coordinator

6300 North River Road

Rosemont, Illinois 60018-4262

If you have any questions, please contact Erin L. Ransford, Medical Research Coordinator, at +1 (847) 384-4319, or via email at ransford@aaos.org.

Award recipients (only the principal investigator) will be contacted personally if they are selected. An official award notification letter, copied to all authors, will follow. Individuals who have not been selected will also receive written confirmation of the final decisions.

Lastly, winners of Kappa Delta and OREF awards will be invited to submit a manuscript to the Journal of Orthopaedic Research (JOR), the official journal of the ORS, based on the work cited in the award, in the form of either a research paper or a review article, to be considered for publication, contingent upon satisfactory scientific review.

PLEASE NOTE: Submissions failing to follow the above guidelines or instructions may not be considered.