SPRI Researchers receive award
VAIL, CO - June 23, 2010 - A research team from Vail, Colo.-based Steadman Philippon Research Institute (SPRI) recently received three scientific awards at the 14th Annual European Society of Sports Traumatology, Knee Surgery, and Arthroscopy (ESSKA) Annual Congress. This congress, held in Oslo, Norway June 9-12, 2010, was the largest sports medicine meeting in the world to date.
The research awards all pertained to the understanding of complex, yet common, injuries of the knee. The awards received by the team were: The Nicola Foundation Young Researcher Award, presented to a researcher younger than 40 years of age; The Best Paper in Ligaments and Biomechanics Award; and the Best Poster Award based on scientific merit.
“Receiving the Young Researcher Award was a very humbling experience, while being amongst the world’s best in orthopaedic research,” said Coen A. Wijdicks, PhD, Deputy Director of Biomechanics Research Department and Senior Staff Scientist at SPRI. “I accepted the award as a symbol for all of the hard work that my colleagues and I have placed into the complex field of knee injuries.”
Additionally, two papers, one by Karen Briggs, MBA, MPH, director of Clinical Research, and one by Dr. Wijdicks, were among six “Star Papers” selected out of a total of over 1,000 eligible abstracts as the best papers of the entire ESSKA Congress.
Dr. Wijdicks and the research team at SPRI design and conduct research in a laboratory and biomechanically validate their outcomes. The continued collaboration with physicians and researchers allows for a process that comes full circle with the ultimate goal of advancing patient care and outcomes.
“Our goal is to continue the Institute’s contributions to improving the health of competitive athletes and society in general as we expand our research in the immediate future,” adds Robert F. LaPrade, MD, PhD, Director of Biomechanics Research Department at SPRI. “The possibilities here are endless. We are all dedicated to advancing the practice of orthopaedic sports medicine through evidence-based research.”
ESSKA, founded in 1984 in Berlin, Germany, is dedicated to international education, research and the clinical and scientific exchange between countries in the fields of knee surgery, arthroscopy and sports traumatology. In its 24 year history, the society has become established as a European and international leader in orthopaedic sports medicine.