The Association for Academic Surgery Foundation (AASF) supports the advancement of surgical care by providing young surgeon scientists critical resources needed to conduct research, scholarships to attend educational events and awards in recognition of deserving work. We invite you to support these vital initiatives through your gift to our AASF.
Student Awards
Student Travel Grant
As part of the AASF’s mission to increase diversity in our membership, we are pleased to offer the annual AAS Student Travel Grant. This award is presented to a medical student from an under-represented minority. This award will include a $1,000 stipend, hotel accommodations, and registration for the Academic Surgical Congress.
Previous AASF Student Diversity Travel Grant Recipients
2023 Deeksha Bidare, Baylor College of Medicine
2023 Ila Sethi, Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Book University
2023 Aurelie Tran, University of Michigan Medical School
2022 Damilola Fakunle, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine
2022 Hannah Bougleux Gomes, Harvard Medical School
2022 Nazineen Kandahari, University of California, San Francisco
2020 Ugur Basmaci, UC Davis
2020 Amaris Elston, University of Alabama at Birmingham
2020 Arif Musa, Wayne State University School of Medicine
2019 Kimberly Loo, Temple University/Fox Chase Cancer Center
2019 Boateng Kubi, Johns Hopkins University
2019 Alexandra Hernandez, Oregon Health & Sciences University
2018 Erin Wolf Horrell, University of Kentucky
2018 Larissa Assam, SUNY Upstate Medical University
2017 Solange Bayard
2017 Nelly-Ange Kontchou
2017 Sarah Vermillion
2016 Jason Silvestre
2016 Lauren Theiss
2016 Livia Maria Mangogna
2015 Nallely Saldana-Ruiz
2015 Graham Walmsley
2015 Yanqiu Zheng
2014 Namita Akolkar
2014 Asishana Osho
2014 Ulysses Rosas
2013 Ayodele Adesanya
2013 Alexis Chidi
2013 Allison Martin
2012 Dani O. Gonzalez
2011 Andrew Ibrahim
2010 Ashanti L. Franklin
2009 Kerry-Ann C.A. Stewart
2008 Juliet A. Emamaulle
2007 Babafemi “Wande” Pratt
Student Research Award
This award recognizes outstanding research efforts by medical students and encourages students’ interest in pursuing careers in academic surgery. Applicants must submit a summary of their research project along with a letter from their mentor describing the student’s contributions to the project. Awardees will receive an award certificate, free medical student membership in the AAS for one year, and recognition in the program of the Annual Meeting. The winners with the top six projects will be invited to attend the Academic Surgical Congress, for which they will receive complimentary registration; the top two awardees will also receive a $500 travel stipend to defray the costs of attending the meeting.
Previous AASF Student Research Award Recipients
2023 Radek Buss, Medical College of Wisconsin
2023 Devon Cassidy, University of Michigan Medical School
2023 Rainya Heath, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine
2023 Lee Ann Santore, Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University
2023 Catherine Williamson, UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine
2022 Nicole Mott, University of Michigan
2022 Paolo deAngelis, Weill Cornell Medicine
2022 Chelsie Anderson, University of California, San Francisco
2022 Mudit Dutta, USF Morsani College of Medicine
2022 Paul Park, University of California, San Francisco
2022 Lia Delaney, University of Michigan Medical School
2020 Joanna Swinarska, Wake Forest School of Medicine
2020 Kirkpatrick Fergus, University of California, San Francisco
2020 Michael Kirsch, University of Michigan
2020 Joseph Ladowski, University of Alabama at Birmingham
2020 Jane Long, Johns Hopkins Medical Institution
2020 Giulia Daneshgaran, Albert Einstein College of Medicine
2019 Caroline Stephens, Oregon Health & Sciences University
2019 Imad Aljabban, Penn State Health
2019 Joel Lawrence Ramirez, University of California, San Francisco
2019 Alexis Antunez, University of Michigan
2019 Kevin Dong, Northeast Ohio Medical University
2019 Michael Kochis, Mass General / Harvard
2018 Daud Lodin, UC San Diego
2018 David Cron, University of Michigan
2018 Katherine He, University of Michigan
2018 Nathan Brand, Columbia University School of Medicine
2018 Sean McGuire, University of Chicago, Pritzker School of Medicine
2017 Alexis Chidi, University of Pittsburgh
2017 Zachary Obinna Enumah, Johns Hopkins University
2017 George Kennedy, University of Pennsylvania
2017 Ambat Mehta, Johns Hopkins University
2017 Barbara Williams
2017 Dor Yoeli, Baylor College of Medicine
2016 Anna Huguenard, Emory University
2016 Blake Henchcliffe, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
2016 Jason Pradarelli, University of Michigan
2016 Mohini Dasari, University of Pittsburgh
2016 Richard Guyer, Vanderbilt University
2016 S. Rae Rokosh, NYU School of Medicine
2015 James Tooley, Yale University
2015 Matthew Burstein, Baylor College of Medicine
2015 Frank Davis, University of Michigan
2015 Anna Garcia, Vanderbilt University
2015 Ben Biesterveld, Medical College of Wisconsin
2015 Tyler Merceron, Vanderbilt University
2014 Muath Bishawi, Stony Brook School University School of Medicine
2014 Tosan Ehanire, Duke University
2014 Christopher Graffeo, NYU School of Medicine
2014 Calista Harbaugh, University of Michigan Health System
2014 Scott Maddalo, NYU School of Medicine
2014 Kyle Sheetz, University of Michigan Health System
2013 David Harris, University of VA, Dept of CT Surgery
2013 Jay Lee, University of Michigan
2013 Arin Madenci, University of Michigan Medical School
2013 Rajshri Mainthia, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine
2013 Nirmish Singla, University of Michigan
2013 Russell Witt, UC Davis
2012 John W. Evankovich, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
2012 Shaun P. Patel, University of Michigan
2012 Brandi B. Scully, Baylor College of Medicine
2012 Swaroop Bommareddi, National Cancer Institute, NIH
2012 Matthew R. Naunheim, Brigham and Women’s Hospital
2012 J. Trent Magruder, Johns Hopkins Department of Surgery
Research Fellowship Awards
This award provides an eligible resident or fellow the opportunity to spend two years in full-time basic or clinical research under the mentorship of an AAS member. The award is given to the surgical resident or fellow whose research proposal is judged to be the most outstanding by the AAS Executive Council. The award of $20,000 per year for two years may be used for salary support or for the direct-cost expenditures of the research. The award is to be expended solely for the purpose of the sponsored research.
Previous AASF Global Surgery Research Fellowship Award Recipients
2022 Nancy Abu-Bonsrah, MD, Johns Hopkins Hospital
2021 Barnabas Alayande, MD, Brigham & Women’s Hospital | Harvard Medical School
2020 Zachary Enumah, MD, Johns Hopkins University
2019 Sarah Jane Commander, Duke University
2018 Katherine Hill, MD, University of Pennsylvania Medical Center
2017 Maunil Bhatt, Boston Medical Center
2016 S. Ariane Christie, UCSF
2015 Benjamin Martin, MD Emory University
2014 Shailvi Gupta, MD, University of California, San Francisco – East Bay
2013 Rebecca Maine, MD, Boston Children’s Hospital/Harvard Medical School/UCSF
Previous AASF Trainee Research Fellowship Award Recipients
2023 Isabel Dennahy, MD University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center
2022 Nitin Sajankila, MD, Nationwide Children’s Hospital
2022 Jordan Rook, MD, University of California, Los Angeles
2021 Jessica L. Mueller, MD
2021 Jennifer Geiger, MD, University of California, Davis
2021 Laura Krecko, MD
2020 Janani Vigneswaran, MD, University of Chicago – Basic Science/Translational
2020 Alaina Geary, MD – Boston Medical Center
2020 Numa Perez, MD, Massachusetts General Hospital
2019 Amblessed Onuma, MD, The Ohio State University
2019 Samuel Enumah, MD, Brigham & Women’s Hospital
2018 Katherine Hekman, Northwestern University
2018 Frank Davis, University of Michigan
2018 Sophia McKinley, Massachusetts General Hospital
2017 Kyle Sheetz, University of Michigan
2017 Kristen Seiler, Washington University
2016 Jarrod Predina, University of Pennsylvania
2016 Christopher Childers, UCLA
2015 James Butler, MD, Indiana University
2015 Christina Papageorge, University of Wisconsin
2014 Jashodeep Datta, MD, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania
2014 Lane Frasier, MD, University of Wisconsin
2013 Leigh Anne Dageforde, MD, Vanderbilt University Medical Center
2013 Adam G. Mace, MD, Cleveland Clinic Lerner Research Institute
2012 Raphael Sun, MD, University of Iowa
2011 Kevin Southerland MD, Duke University
2010 Gary W. Nace, MD, University of Pittsburgh
2009 Seth B. Krantz, MD, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
2008 Sung W. Cho, MD, University of Pittsburgh
2007 Scott N. Pinchot, MD, University of Wisconsin-Madison
2006 Daniel A. Popowich, MD, Northwestern University
2005 David Greenblatt, MD, University of Wisconsin-Madison
2004 Christopher Jones, MD, Vanderbilt University
2003 Flavio G. Rocha, MD, Brigham and Women’s Hospital
2002 Scott Hollenbeck, MD, Cornell University
2001 Andrew W. Knott, MD, University of Cincinnati
2000 Kathleen van Leeuwen, MD, University of Michigan Hospital
1999 Shimul A. Shah, MD, University of Massachusetts
1998 Maggie C. Lee, MD, UCLA
1998 Daniel Kreisel, MD, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania
1997 Heung Bae Kim, MD, The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
1996 Maureen Chung, MD, Roger Williams Medical College
1996 Bradley S. Taylor, MD, University of Pittsburgh
1995 John F. Renz, MD, University of California, San Francisco
1994 Mary Emily Klingensmith, MD, Brigham & Women’s Hospital
1993 Bryan M. Clary, MD, Duke University
1992 Richard Battafarano, MD, University of Minnesota
1991 Claude Roland, MD, Washington University
1990 Sherry Wren, MD, University of Pittsburgh
1989 Harold Brem, MD, Harvard University
1988 Michael Grosso, MD, University of Colorado
