Chris Halbur, MS4 Michael Bonfiglio Recipient
Jace Lapierre, MS3 IOS Recipient
The University of Iowa Department of Orthopedics and Rehabilitation, along with the Iowa Orthopaedic Society, sponsors two research awards involving medical students.
The Michael Bonfiglio Award originated in 1988 and is named in honor of Dr. Bonfiglio who had an avid interest in students, teaching, and research. The award is given annually and consists of a plaque and a stipend. It is awarded to a senior medical student in the Carver College of Medicine who has done outstanding orthopedic research during his or her tenure as a medical student. The student has an advisor in the Orthopedic Department. However, the student must have played a major role in the design, implementation, and analysis of the project. He or she must be able to defend the manuscript in a public forum. The research project may have been either a clinical or basic science project, and each study is judged based on originality and scientific merit. The winner presents their work at the spring meeting of the Iowa Orthopaedic Society as well as at a conference in the Department of Orthopedics and Rehabilitation.
The Iowa Orthopaedic Society Medical Research Award for Musculoskeletal Research is an award for a student in the Carver College of Medicine who completes a research project involving orthopedic surgery during one of his or her first three years of medical school. The award consists of a $2000 stipend, $500 of which is designated as a direct award to the student and $1500 of which is designated to help defray continuing costs of the project and publication. The student must provide an abstract and a progress report on the ongoing research. The aim is to stimulate research in the field of orthopedic surgery and musculoskeletal problems. This award is also presented at a medical convocation. In addition, the student presents his or her work at the spring meeting of the Iowa Orthopaedic Society and at a conference in the Department of Orthopedics and Rehabilitation. This award is supported through the generosity of the Iowa Orthopaedic Society.
This year the selection committee consisted of Drs. Charles R. Clark and Joseph A. Buckwalter IV. They recommended that Christopher Halbur, MS4, receive the 2023 Michael Bonfiglio Student Research Award. Christopher’s award was based on his project, “Weight-Based Aspirin Dosing May Further Reduce the Incidence of Venous Thromboembolism Following Primary Total Joint Arthroplasty” His advisor was Dr. Nicolas Noiseux.
The selection committee recommended that the 2023 Iowa Orthopaedic Society Medical Student Research Award be given to Jace Lapierre, MS3, for his research titled “Examining Long-Term Outcomes Following High Tibial Osteotomy or Distal Femoral Osteotomy.” His advisors were Drs. Kyle Duchman and Robert Wester-mann.
The Michael Bonfiglio Award and the Iowa Orthopae-dic Society Medical Student Research Award for Mus-culoskeletal Research are very prestigious, recognizing student research on the musculoskeletal system. These awards have indeed attained their goal of stimulating such research and have produced many fine projects over the years.