Frederick F. Fakharzadeh, MD
AFSH President
The American Foundation for Surgery of the Hand was founded almost 25 years ago with the mission of supporting research, education, and outreach in the field of hand surgery. Since its inception, it has grown tremendously. The Foundation now has roughly $7 million in net assets and 7 endowed funds.
Prior to the inception of the AFSH, the Hand Society was funding up to 5 projects a year, with the total of all the grants ranging from $13,000 - $15,000 per year. But since the advent of the AFSH, there has been a steady increase in the dollar amounts and also the number of research grants being awarded. Since the year 2000, 63 basic science and 27 clinical research grants have been funded. In 2010, almost $240,000 was awarded to fund 10 research grants, and almost $200,000 went to designated awards, patient education, resident and fellow scholarships, and outreach projects.
One of the benchmarks that we are especially proud of is the ‘return on investment’ of grants given out by the AFSH. Over the past 4 years, approximately 15 different projects that received a total of $610,000 in initial funding from the Foundation went on to garner over $10.6 million in extramural grants from sources such as the NIH, Department of Defense, Shriner’s Foundation, and others. (See below for a current list.) By any yardstick, that is an absolutely phenomenal return, and one which highlights the quality of the researchers and work that received support from the Foundation.
There are certainly many clinical questions waiting to be asked and answered, and we hope to continue to elevate this tradition of high quality research. It is with this goal in mind that the American Foundation for Surgery of the Hand would like to commemorate its 25th Anniversary by awarding a $100,000 grant for a well-designed, prospective multi-center clinical research study. The ASSH Research Committee will review proposals and select the recipient of this grant, to be announced at the 2012 Annual Meeting in Chicago.
The Foundation has come a long way in its 25 years, and its success is a reflection of the tremendous support received from the ASSH membership and our corporate partners. It is with deep gratitude that I thank all our donors, whose generosity makes them true leaders in our field of hand surgery. I look forward to the achievements that lie ahead.
Frederick F. Fakharzadeh, MD
President, AFSH
October 1, 2011
Extramural Grant Recipients
Projects initially funded by AFSH have received a combined $10.6 million in additional funding and this number continues to grow.
2007 Recipients:
- Martin Boyer, MD: Shriner’s Foundation
- Kevin Chung, MD: NIH R21 & R34 Awards
- Jennifer Wolf, MD: OREF Clinician-Scientist
- Kacey Marra, MD: NSF, AFRIMS
- David Ring, MD, PhD: OTA
- Warren Hammert, MD: NIH
2008 Recipients:
- Ruby Grewal, MD: CIHR Award
- Howard Levinson, MD: PSEF Award
- Jonathan Isaacs, MD: DOD
- Zhongyu Li, MD: DOD
2009 Recipients:
- Scott Wolfe, MD
- Christopher Got, MD: department NIH
- John C. Elfar, MD: institutional support