We are pleased to announce the recipient of the 2023 Outstanding Achievement in Mentoring Award: Lawrence J. Bonassar, PhD

Dr. Bonassar is the Daljit S. and Elaine Sarkaria Professor in the Meinig School of Biomedical Engineering and the Sibley School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Cornell University.

Dr. Bonassar has advised more than 40 doctoral students, 50 masters students, and 10 postdoctoral fellows. His trainees have been highly successful in securing competitive awards and fellowships, collectively winning 11 NSF graduate research fellowships, 3 NASA graduate student research fellowship, 1 NSERC graduate fellowship, 5 NIH F31 graduate fellowships.

About the Award

The ORS Outstanding Achievement in Mentoring Award was created in 2014 to celebrate the commitment of the outstanding mentors in our community who promote the success of new investigators in the pursuit of independent orthopaedic research careers.

This award recognizes an ORS member who has shown exceptional achievement in mentorship and advocacy on behalf of new investigators in orthopaedic research. Awardees are honored for excellence in promoting the scientific and professional development and the advancement to independent research careers of new investigators, who are of diverse personal and professional backgrounds. The award will be based on one nominating letter and two letters of support.

Mentorship is very broad and can apply to mentorship of trainees in a mentor’s research program and beyond, as well as faculty, throughout the whole range of orthopaedic research.

Recognition

  • Commemorative plaque

The winner must be present at the ORS Annual Meeting to accept the award.

Eligibility

  • Nominee must be an ORS member* in good standing.
  • Must have obtained a PhD, MD, DO, DVM, DDM, DPT, DDS, or equivalent
  • Training of researchers within the nominee’s research program
  • Mentorship of new orthopaedic investigators
  • Advocacy on behalf of new investigators in and beyond the nominee’s research program
  • Education and professional development of new orthopaedic investigators
  • Overall Impact (including research, teaching, diversity, and mentoring)

*Note: If you are not a member of the ORS, but would like to apply to be eligible for this award, visit our membership section of the website for an application. Thank you for your interest.

Submissions

Submission packet must include:

  • Nomination Letter: The primary nomination letter summarizing the nominee’s contributions to mentoring will be submitted by an ORS member
  • Supporting Letters: Submit two letters describing the nominee’s contributions to mentoring (2 page limit per letter)
  • Nominee’s Full Curriculum Vitae (NIH Bio-sketches will not be accepted)
  • Nominee’s Training and Mentoring Record (if not included explicitly as a part of the CV)

Letters must detail why the nominee merits recognition as an outstanding mentor. Please clearly describe the nominee’s qualities as a mentor and the contributions he or she has made to the mentee’s careers.

2021Clark Hung, PhD

2022 Farshid Guilak, PhD
2020 Suzanne Maher, PhD
2019 Matthew Silva, PhD
2018 Alan Grodzinsky, PhD
2017 Henry Donahue, PhD
2016 Lou Soslowski, PhD
2015 Dawn Elliott, PhD
2015 Steven A. Goldstein, PhD

For more information contact the ORS office at [email protected].