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Ernest N. Morial
Convention Center
Hall H
New Orleans, Louisiana
March 6-9, 2010
Saturday - Tuesday

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Awards / Grants


The Alfred R. Shands, Jr., MD Award

Named for Alfred R. Shands, Jr., MD, this award is presented each year to a United States or Canadian citizen who has made significant contributions to orthopaedics. This award recognizes the devotion of a significant portion of the professional lifetime to furthering knowledge in the fields of musculoskeletal disease. The Alfred R. Shands, Jr., MD Award is jointly sponsored by the American Orthopaedic Association and the Orthopaedic Research Society. The ORS President, in conjunction with a representative from the AOA, chooses the winner. The ORS Board of Directors gives the final approval.

“Where there is no vision, the people perish.”

Alfred R. Shands Jr., M.D. presented this proverb as a cautionary reminder of the need for orthopaedists to look to the future of the profession in his presidential address at The American Orthopaedic Association Annual Meeting on June 9, 1954. In his address he stated: “We of this generation should be doing as our forefathers did for us; we should be ‘sowing the seed’ to bring forth the ‘harvest of the future’ for the oncoming generations.” Committed to this mission of investing in the future of orthopaedics, Alfred R. Shands Jr., M.D., along with Joseph S. Barr Jr., M.D., James A. Dickson, M.D.; Francis M. McKeever, M.D.; Harold A. Sofield, M.D.; and Philip D. Wilson Jr., M.D., founded the Orthopaedic Research and Education Foundation in 1955. Since then, the Foundation has awarded more than 1,743 grants and has provided more than $52.3 million dollars for research and education.

The accomplishments of Alfred R. Shands Jr., M.D., are many. Born into an eminent family of physicians in Washington in 1899, he graduated with his medical degree from the University of Virginia in 1922 and received his internship and residency training at John’s Hopkins. In 1930, while serving at Duke University School of Medicine, he founded the orthopaedic department and developed the first orthopaedic resident training program. During his last two years with the university he wrote the Handbook of Orthopaedic Surgery.

From 1937 to 1969, he held the position of Medical Director of the Nemours Foundation for Crippled Children. He was not only instrumental in helping to establish the Alfred I. duPont Institute, but also served as its Surgeon-in-Chief from 1940 to 1962.

In 1941, he accepted the position of Visiting Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Pennsylvania. During World War II, he served in many capacities with the United States Army Air Force, i.e., Senior Consultant on Orthopaedic Surgery and Chief of the Surgical Branch. His commitment extended after WWII, as he served on the Armed Forces Medical Policy and Advisory Councils from 1951 to 1954.