For the 14th year, the AO Spine North America Research Committee has established the Young Investigator Research Grant Award (YIRGA), funding new investigators who have a desire to perform high-quality, clinically relevant spinal or spinal cord research in basic or clinical science. The applications were evaluated in a peer review process by the Research Committee members.

The following investigators will each be awarded a one-year grant of up to $20,000 to help with their research. 

The selected research projects will be carried out in 2021 and the investigators will be invited to present their results at the 2022 Fellows Forum in Banff, Alberta, Canada. 

Congratulations to the winners–they certainly represent a significant contribution to the quality of research being performed in North America. For AO Spine NA, it is a pleasure to be able to invest in promising projects like these and to incentivize the members to actively take part in the scientific development of the region.