AOFAS Hosts First-Ever Virtual Meeting

Nearly 1,200 foot and ankle orthopaedic surgeons and industry exhibitors participated in AOFAS at Home, the virtual annual meeting of the American Orthopaedic Foot & Ankle Society® (AOFAS), held September 10-12, 2020.

AOFAS at Home offered attendees 72 live presentations, 80 on-demand sessions, 184 audio posters, 246 ePosters, and the opportunity to connect with 32 exhibiting companies. During the meeting, the Society presented its most prestigious awards to innovative foot and ankle researchers and orthopaedic leaders.

On September 11, the award-winning papers were announced by Program Chair Scott J. Ellis, MD. The Roger A. Mann Award for outstanding clinical paper was presented to Joseph T. O'Neil, MD; Otho R. Plummer, Ph.D.; and Steven M. Raikin, MD, for the paper, "Application of Computerized Adaptive Testing to the Foot and Ankle Ability Measure."

Authors Jianying Zhang, Ph.D.; Feng Li, MD, Ph.D.; Daibang Nie, Ph.D.; Kentaro Onishi, DO; MaCalus V. Hogan, MD, MBA; and James H. Wang, Ph.D., were named the recipients of the 2020 J. Leonard Goldner Award, recognizing their outstanding research paper, "Inhibition of HMGB1 by Metformin Prevents Mechanical Overloading-Induced Tendinopathy."

The International Federation of Foot & Ankle Societies (IFFAS) presents the IFFAS Award of Excellence each year for the top international paper. This year's recipients were Chamnanni Rungprai, MD; Aekachai Jaroenarpornwatana, MD; Yantarat Sripanich, MD; and Nusorn Chaiprom, MD, for the paper, "Outcomes and Complications of Open versus Posterior Arthroscopic Subtalar Arthrodesis: A Prospective Randomized Controlled Multicenter Study."

Naomi N. Shields, MD, from San Antonio, Texas, and Laura K. Dawson, DO, from West Point, New York, accepted the 2020 Women's Leadership Awards, established by the Orthopaedic Foot & Ankle Foundation to recognize contributions to foot and ankle education, research, and humanitarian service. Dr. Shields received the Career Impact Award for her exceptional surgical career and longtime participation in the Overseas Outreach Program to Vietnam and other humanitarian missions. Dr. Dawson was awarded the Career Development Award that supports the professional aspirations of early- and midcareer female orthopaedic foot and ankle surgeons.

Also during AOFAS at Home, foot and ankle orthopaedic surgeon, Bruce E. Cohen, MD, of OrthoCarolina in Charlotte, North Carolina, was installed as the 2020-21 president of AOFAS. "It is an extreme honor to assume presidency of this great organization and I am excited to continue the strides we have made," Dr. Cohen said.