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Society News

AOA, Zimmer to collaborate on education funding
Zimmer Holdings, Inc. has become the founding supporter of a new entity, created by the American Orthopaedic Association (AOA), to provide funding for postgraduate orthopaedic fellowships and residency programs, beginning in the 2009–2010 academic year. The new, independent entity, called OMeGA Medical Grants Association LLC (OMeGA), will receive and analyze funding requests before making grants to educational institutions or programs.

Zimmer will have no role in selecting the recipients of its funding, but it will be permitted to allocate its donation among one or more specialty areas that the company wishes to support. These funding areas may include adult reconstruction/arthroplasty; shoulder and elbow; spine; trauma; sports orthopaedic surgery; pediatric orthopaedics; foot and ankle; orthopaedic oncology; hand and upper limb surgery; and residency/educational resources.

OMeGA presents “a new model” to administer funding for postgraduate education, according to AOA president Louis U. Bigliani, MD. The board of directors of OMeGA will be selected using criteria that require individuals to meet rigorous standards of independence; only those who have no current ties to the orthopaedic industry and who have received no remuneration from the orthopaedic industry in the past two years will be eligible to serve as directors. The board will establish review panels composed of individuals who are qualified by their education and experience to evaluate education programs in various specialties and who satisfy OMeGA’s conflict of interest standards. These independent review panels will be responsible for applying objective criteria to consider grant applications, subject to continued oversight by the board.

AOSSM issues call for papers
Sports Health: A Multidisciplinary Approach is a new collaborative journal from the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine (AOSSM), American Medical Society for Sports Med­icine, National Athletic Trainers’ Association and Sports Physical Therapy Section. The new publication will launch in January 2009.

The journal will publish review articles, original research articles, case studies, images, short updates, and legal briefs that would be beneficial to medical professionals involved in the training and care of the competitive or recreational athlete. Submit your paper at http://submit.sportshealthjournal.org

For more information on submission guidelines or how to subscribe, please visit www.sportshealthjournal.org

ASSH seeks grant applications
The American Society for Surgery of the Hand (ASSH) is now accepting applications for the Clinical Trials and Outcomes Planning Grant, which is intended to support a new researcher from the ASSH membership to write an NIH R0-1 application for a multicenter clinical trial. Once the grant is funded, the Principal Investigator will work with the ASSH and the Clinical Trials and Outcomes Committee to engage interested ASSH members to participate in the study.

Applicants should have a successful track record for clinical research and the potential to be competitive at the NIH level. Applicants need to complete the AFSH grant application form, available on the ASSH Web site (www.assh.org). The research study should address one of the following topics: arthritis and joint problems; distal radius fractures; tendon injuries; carpal pathology; or peripheral nerve problems.

Applications are due by April 1, 2009, and can be submitted electronically in Word format to Sarah Meyer Hughes at smeyerhughes@assh.org.

ASSH sponsoring two young investigators
The ASSH will sponsor two ASSH members to attend the 2009 U.S. Bone & Joint Decade (USBJD) Young Investigators Initiative and Workshop Program. The program provides early-career clinical investigators an opportunity to work with experienced researchers and assists them in securing funding and other survival skills required for pursuing an academic career. This workshop series is open to promising junior faculty, senior fellows, or post-doctoral researchers seeking funding for hypothesis-driven research and to senior fellows doing research who have a faculty appointment in place or confirmed.

Any ASSH active or candidate member may apply. Applications should be sent directly to the USBJD, and applicants should clearly state on their paperwork that they are an ASSH member. The Hand Society will reimburse the selected investigators for travel and registration fee. Applications are due January 15, 2009.

For more information visit www.usbjd.org

Knee Society welcomes abstracts
Abstract submissions for the 2009 member meeting of the Knee Society will start this month. The 2009 Knee Society Member Meeting paper presentation will be Oct. 8–10, 2009, in Boston. For more information, visit the Knee Society Web site, www.kneesociety.org

ORS annual meeting non-member registration opens
The 55th annual meeting of the Orthopaedic Research Society (ORS) will be held at the Venetian Hotel–Resort–Casino (sessions) and the adjacent Sands Expo Convention Center (posters and exhibits), in Las Vegas, Sunday through Wednesday, Feb. 22–25, 2009. This year’s program features more than 2,000 posters, 268 paper presentations, 135 short talks, 8 workshops, and 2 ORS/AAOS Combined Symposia.

Do not miss the opportunity to attend this extraordinary conference where the best, late-breaking research on the musculoskeletal system is brought to a forum for open discussion and debate!

The preregistration deadline date for fax and mail-in registrations is Jan. 14, 2009. Preregister and find further infor­mation online at www.ors.org

OTA announces resident education programs
The Orthopaedic Trauma Association (OTA) will hold a Comprehensive Fracture Course for Residents, March 25–29, 2009, at the Hotel Sofitel in Rosemont, Ill. The program’s co-chairs are Kevin J. Pugh, MD, and David F. Hubbard, MD.

This course is designed to provide PGY2 and PGY3 residents with an extensive overview for treating orthopaedic trauma patients in a fast-paced, interactive environment. Hands-on skills labs deliver broad exposure to orthopaedic trauma cases when surgical implants are necessary; case discussion sessions and a series of short key point lectures afford residents the opportunity to learn from and interact with talented OTA faculty members.

PGY4 and PGY5 residents are invited to attend the OTA’s Trauma Techniques Course for Residents, April 24–25, 2009, in St. Petersburg, Fla., under the direction of Thomas F. Higgins, MD, and James P. Stannard, MD. This course is designed for the advanced level orthopaedic trauma resident with basic surgical fracture fixation.

Scholarships are available! Register online (www.ota.org) or contact the OTA office at (847) 698-1631 for details.

AAOS Now
December 2008 Issue
http://www.aaos.org/news/aaosnow/dec08/youraaos6.asp

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