Nominations Now Open!

Submit by Thursday, July 30, 2026

Link coming soon!

The PSRS Lifetime Research Achievement Award was created in 2013 by the Philadelphia Spine Research Society (PSRS) to honor an investigator who has established him/herself with sustained and long-lasting contributions to spine research. The award is given at the ORS PSRS International Research Symposium and is made possible by generous support from Irving M. Shapiro, BDS, PhD, Thomas Jefferson University Spine Research Award Fund.

Recognition

  • An honorarium
  • Commemorative plaque

The winner must register and be present at the ORS PSRS 8th International Spine Research Symposium to accept the award. The winner will receive a complimentary registration for the meeting.

Submissions

The submission package must include:

  • Description of the major research accomplishments of the nominee (approx. 250 words)
  • Two letters of recommendation
  • A recent curriculum vitae of the nominee. (NIH Biosketches will not be accepted.)

The complete package, prepared by a nominator on behalf of the nominee, must be submitted online through the PSRS Lifetime Achievement Award website by July 30, 2026. The Lifetime Achievement Awards Committee will review all nominations and select a single nominee to receive the award.

The PSRS, founded in 2004, was set up to bring together members of the Greater Philadelphia community of basic scientists, bioengineers, and spine surgeons concerned with studies of the intervertebral disc and the associated spinal tissues. Over the last decade, the PSRS has broadened its reach to include a truly global community of researchers interested in the intervertebral disc and spine.

Makarand V. Risbud, PhD, Chair
Jill Urban, PhD
Judith Hoyland, PhD
Mauro Alini, PhD
Michele Battie, PhD
Irving Shapiro, BDS, PhD

2024 Mauro Alini, PhD, AO Research Institute
2022 Professor Judith Hoyland, PhD, University of Manchester
2019 Professor Michele Battie, PhD, University of Calgary
2017 Jill Urban, PhD, Oxford University
2015 Professor Peter Roughley, PhD, McGill University
2013 Professor Irving Shapiro, PhD, Thomas Jefferson University