The AAOF has defined seven Award Program priority areas:
- Biomedical Research Awards
- Orthodontic Faculty Development Fellowship Awards
- Center Awards
- Postdoctoral Fellowship Award
- Educational Innovation Awards
- Program Awards
- Research Aid Awards
The funds necessary for these awards are the result of the Foundation's endowment fundraising campaign, Continued Commitment to the Specialty®.
View the committee's policies regarding Confidentiality of Information and Conflicts of Interest HERE.
2027 Awards Program
The window for the 2027 Award Application cycle is open from July 1, 2025 through October 16, 2026 at 5:00 pm Central Time.
Application Materials for the annual AAOF Awards are now available on the new online platform (click button below to apply).
The AAO Foundation Board of Directors and Planning and Awards Review Committee (PARC) have issued a call for proposals on the following two topics:
Investigating the Use of Artificial Intelligence in Orthodontic Practice
Investigating the Impact of Microplastics in Orthodontics
Members of the Planning and Awards Review Committee facilitated a virtual workshop to provide guidance on submitting a successful proposal on Friday, June 6, 2025, from 11 am-1 pm.
View the 2025 AAO Foundation Awards Application Workshop PowerPoint presentation HERE or
watch the live Virtual Workshop/Zoom Meeting, presented live on 6/6/25 HERE.
All applications must be submitted through our online process between July 1 and October 16, 2026.
Summary of 2026 Awards
- Thirteen (13) Biomedical Research Awards (BRA)
- Eight (8) Orthodontic Faculty Development Fellowship Awards (OFDFA)
- One (1) Center Award (CA)
- One (1) Postdoctoral Fellowship Award (PFA)
- Nine (9) Research Aid Awards (RA)
Biomedical Research Award (BRA)
- Iacopo Cioffi, University of Toronto - B.F. Dewel Memorial Biomedical Research Award (Synopsis)
- Laura Jacox, University of North Carolina - Robert James Bray Biomedical Research Award (Synopsis)
- Eliane Dutra, University of Connecticut - Burstone-Indiana Biomechanics Award (Synopsis)
- Chung How Kau, University of Alabama Birmingham - The Fred & Dianne Garrett Biomedical Research Award (Synopsis)
- Melih Motro, Boston University - Robert L. Boyd Biomedical Research Award (Synopsis)
- Dimitrios Michelogiannakis, University of Rochester - Fred F. Schudy Memorial Research Award (Synopsis)
- Phimon Atsawasuwan, University of Illinois Chicago (Synopsis)
- Bingshuang Zou, University of British Columbia (Synopsis)
- Ginny Ching Yun Hsu, Oregon Health & Science University - Graber Family Biomedical Research & Teaching Award (Synopsis)
- Maysaa Oubaidin, University of Illinois Chicago (Synopsis)
- Mohammed Elnagar, University of Illinois Chicago (Synopsis)
- Michael Papademetriou, A.T. Still University (Synopsis)
- Jonas Bianchi, University of the Pacific (Synopsis)
Orthodontic Faculty Development Fellowship Awards (OFDFA)
- Jahnavi Rao, University of Illinois-Midwestern - Willie & Earl Shepard Fellowship Award (Synopsis)
- Carolina Frota, Indiana University - Graber Family Teaching & Research Award (Synopsis)
- Yi Lin, University of California, Los Angeles - T.M. Graber Teaching Fellowship Award (Synopsis)
- Mohamed Adel Ahmed Mohamed, Texas A&M University - Orhan C. Tuncay Teaching Fellowship Award (Synopsis)
- Sanghee Lee, University of Washington - James L. Vaden Teaching Fellowship Award (Synopsis)
- Heeyeon Suh, University of the Pacific - James A. McNamara Ortho Faculty Fellowship Award (Synopsis)
- Niloufar Azami, University of Connecticut - Robert E. Binder Teaching Fellowship Award (Synopsis)
- Baibhav Gandhi, Medical University of South Carolina - Robert E. Gaylord Teaching Fellowship Award (Synopsis)
Center Award (CA)
- Veerasathpurush Allareddy, University of Illinois Chicago - American Orthodontics Corporate Center Award (Synopsis)
Postdoctoral Fellowship Award (PFA)
- Min Kyeon Lee, University of Illinois Chicago (Synopsis)
Research Aid Award (RAA)
- Hillary Diffee, University of North Carolina - Charles J. Burstone Research Aid Award (Synopsis)
- Thy Tran, University of Illinois Chicago - Charles J. Burstone Research Aid Award (Synopsis)
- Mohammad Mohammad, University of Pennsylvania - Charles J. Burstone Research Aid Award (Synopsis)
- Michael Chavez, University of Iowa - Charles J. Burstone Research Aid Award (Synopsis)
- Karla Crosara, University of Western Ontario (Synopsis)
- Joshua Bussard, Indiana University (Synopsis)
- Natthapatt Sooppapipatt, University of Illinois Chicago (Synopsis)
- Amber Alak, New York University (Synopsis)
- Lara Moyu Fu, University of Washington (Synopsis)
Craniofacial Growth Legacy Collection Project - AAO Foundation Continued Support
The Dewel Award is given to the most meritorious Biomedical Research Award.
The AAOF Board of Directors Award is given at the discretion of the Board of Directors.
The Shepard Award designation is given annually to the most meritorious Orthodontic Faculty Development Fellowship Award.
The Burstone-Indiana Award is given to the successful applicant of the award each year and designated as a Burstone Fellow in Biomechanics.