NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 20, 2016
Contact: Tressa Goulding, Scoliosis Research Society
Phone: 414-289-9107 Email: [email protected]
Scoliosis Research Society Announces Recipients for the
Walter P. Blount Humanitarian and Lifetime Achievement Awards
Milwaukee, WI (May 20, 2016) – On September 21, 2016 at the Scoliosis Research Society’s (SRS) 51st Annual Meeting & Course, held in Prague, Czech Republic, SRS will award David A. Spiegel, MD the Walter P. Blount Humanitarian Award and John E. Lonstein, MD and Harry L. Shufflebarger, MD the Lifetime Achievement Award.
The Walter P. Blount Humanitarian Award honors a SRS member who provides outstanding service for people living with spinal deformities, through generous acts of volunteerisms. Dr. Spiegel will receive this award for dedicating his time and talents visiting Somalia, Iraq, Afghanistan, Nepal, and many other regions in need to run clinics, operate, and provide education for the local surgeons so they can better care for their people. He also consults for the World Health Organization as an expert on the needs of disadvantaged people. Dr. Spiegel is an attending surgeon at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.
The Lifetime Achievement Award honors SRS members for distinguished service to the Society as well as significant contributions to spinal deformity care. Dr. Lonstein, a member of SRS since 1977, has held various leadership positions in the Society such as President, 1991; Corporate Relations Chair, 2005; and is the current editor-in-chief of Spine Deformity - The Official Journal of the Scoliosis Research Society. He helped to establish one of the first major clinical spine fellowship programs in the US and is recognized by his peers for his meticulous research and his pursuit for excellence in methodology. Dr. John Lonstein is a Staff Surgeon at Twin Cities Spine Center in Minneapolis, MN and Clinical (Adjunct) Professor at the University of Minnesota.
Dr. Shufflebarger, an orthopedic surgeon and Director of the Division of Pediatric Spinal Surgery at Nicklaus Children’s Hospital, is a founding member of the Harms Pediatric Scoliosis Study Group and has been an executive committee member and board member for the 20 years it has been in existence. He is described by his peers as a humble and honest teacher of spinal deformity surgery who has a great thirst for scientific knowledge and asking questions that lead to excellent outcomes. Dr. Harry Shufflebarger, a member of SRS since 1979 has held various leadership positions in the Society such as Secretary 1993, 1997; Board of Directors 1993-2000; Vice president 1997; President 1999; and the Senior Traveling Fellow of the SRS Traveling Fellowship, 2011.
Both Lifetime Achievement recipients will also be asked to sit with the SRS historian for a 30-minute interview that will be added to the Scoliosis Research Society’s historical archives.
The Scoliosis Research Society is a non-profit, professional organization, made up of physicians and allied health personnel. Our primary focus is on providing continuing medical education for health care professionals and on funding/supporting research in spinal deformities. Founded in 1966, SRS has gained recognition as the world's premier spine deformity society. Please visit www.srs.org for further information.
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