2023 AOA Award Winners
Each year, AOA members select two renowned peers for special recognition. Congratulations to our 2023 winners!
Frank R. Noyes, MD, FAOA
2023 Winner of the Distinguished Contributions to Orthopaedics Award
Amy L. Ladd, MD, FAOA
2023 Winner of the Distinguished Clinician Educator Award
About the 2023 Award Winners
Frank R. Noyes, MD is a national and internationally recognized authority on the diagnosis and treatment of complex knee problems. He graduated from the University of Utah BA Philosophy, attended George Washington University Medical School cum laude, AOA:, completed his Orthopaedic training at the University of Michigan. He received a four-year appointment as an orthopedic surgeon and senior researcher at the Aerospace Medical Research Laboratory in the United States Air Force, Wright Patterson Ohio: commissioned as a lieutenant colonel. He initiated bioengineering research into knee ligament injuries, effects of immobility, biomechanics and injury prevention and put together a team of bioengineers to be a co-founder of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Cincinnati, one of the first Bioengineering Schools at the University of Cincinnati along with Edward Grood PhD. Dr Noyes has been the AOSSM Chairman of the Research, Fellowship and Curriculum Committees, and a member of the AAOS Biomechanics and Knee Committees. He is currently a Professor Emeritus in Orthopedics at the University of Cincinnati and Chairman of Research and Education at the Jewish Hospital Medical Center.
Dr. Noyes has a passion for education and research and established one of the first Sports Medicine and Arthroscopic fellowships graduating 176 fellows with clinical positions in private and academic practice. The Bioengineering School has grown with fully credentialed Bioengineering programs at the Bachelors, Master’s and PhD levels with PhD students and fellows in mentored published research. Dr. Noyes has published over 300 peer reviewed publications, that have been selected in bibliometric studies as the most 25 cited Arthroscopy surgery studies, the 50 most cited anterior cruciate ligament research studies and top 50 most sited knee Arthroscopy studies. Dr. Noyes is the author of four textbooks including Noyes Knee Disorders and 12 E Books.
Dr. Noyes and the research team have received numerous honors including the Kappa Delta Award, Orthopedic Research and Education Foundation award, AOSSM Research and Education Awards, AOSSM Hall of Fame, and excellence awards from the University of Cincinnati, Deaconess Medical Center, and Jewish Hospital Medical Center in Cincinnati.
Dr. Noyes is most proud of his loving and successful wife JoAnn Noyes, RN, an American Heart Association Board member, and award recipient, and their three children and five grand-children and all enjoy many yearly family reunions.
Dr. Amy Ladd is the Elsbach-Richards Professor of Surgery at Stanford University School of Medicine, the chief of the pediatric hand clinic at the Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital, and the Stanford orthopaedic vice-chair of Academic Affairs. She created the Stanford hand fellowship in 1991, which she directed until 2019. She served as the Assistant Dean for Medical Advising at Stanford University 2013-21, and currently advises medical students pursuing surgical careers. Dr. Ladd is past Chair of the AAOS Board of Specialty Societies, and past member of the AAOS Board of Directors. She is currently 2nd vice-president of the Association of Bone and Joint Surgeons.
Dr. Ladd’s hand surgery practice includes both adults and children. Her research focuses on deciphering human motion of injury, disease, and deformity. Her research accolades include the Nicolas Andry Award from the Association of Bone and Joint Surgeons, and the Andrew Weiland Medal from the American Society for Surgery of the Hand. In additional to research, she holds innovation patents that span wrist fractures treatment, implants for thumb arthritis, a means to codify the golf swing, and a trademark to promote musculoskeletal health awareness. She strives to integrate new approaches to solving old conundrums across medicine and the realm of teaching, training, and education. Dr. Ladd’s commitment to promoting pipeline education and mentorship complements community and national orthopaedic initiatives. She values her role as both mentor and champion to several hundred medical students, residents, and fellows over the course of her career spanning over three decades.
View the AOA Award Winners Hall of Fame. Learn more about the Awards criteria, including how to submit a nomination.