Dr. Owen K. Davis, professor of obstetrics and gynecology and professor of reproductive medicine, was elected vice president of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine for 2013-2014. The society is committed to facilitating and sponsoring educational activities for the lay public and continuing medical education activities for professionals who are engaged in the practice of and research in reproductive medicine.
Dr. Peter Grunert, a fellow in the laboratory of Dr. Roger Härtl, professor of neurological surgery, won a New Investigator Recognition Award from the Orthopaedic Research Society during its annual meeting in New Orleans on March 17. Dr. Grunert was honored for his abstract on high-density collagen gel mixed with riboflavin, which is used to close defects in intervertebral discs. His paper was selected as one of 10 winners from 1,000 submitted by young researchers around the world. The society promotes, supports, develops and encourages research and education into musculoskeletal disease.
Dr. Roger Härtl, professor of neurological surgery, and his spine team, in collaboration with Dr. Larry Bonassar and the Biomedical Engineering team in Ithaca, have been named the 2014 winner of the Ronald Apfelbaum Research Award for their work on the creation of a novel collagen gel to repair herniated discs. The Apfelbaum Award, which carries $15,000 in funding for spine research and is sponsored by medical equipment developer Aesculap, is presented each year by the American Association of Neurological Surgeons and Congress of Neurological Surgeons Joint Section on Disorders of the Spine and Peripheral Nerves at its annual meeting. The goal of the joint section is to foster the use of spinal neurosurgical methods for the treatment of diseases of the spinal neural elements, the spine and peripheral nerves, as well as advance spinal neurosurgery and related sciences through patient care and research.