AO Trauma Research Olympiad
AO Trauma Research Olympiad aims to be an event where the different AO Trauma regions connect to promote research on a global level.
We want to encourage new researchers and give them a forum in which they can promote their projects as well as create an international network of contacts within the AO world.
We offer the final candidates the opportunity to get to know the AO Research Institute (ARI) and its researchers, to contact the AO Innovation Technology Center and its Fellowship opportunities and to visit the AO Davos Courses and be together with the 300+ faculty and 1000+ participants.
Applications will open soon for the AO Trauma Research Olympiad 2027
AO Trauma Asia Pacific
AO Trauma Europe and Southern Africa
AO Trauma Latin America
AO Trauma Middle East and Northern Africa
AO Trauma North America
We are happy to answer your questions and provide you with additional information.
AO Trauma Research Olympiad 2025
We are thrilled to announce the winners of the third AO Trauma Research Olympiad, which was held in Davos, Switzerland on December 11, 2025. Ten early-career surgeons from all five regions of AO Trauma presented their research to a jury of experts in orthopedic research.
Congratulations to medal winners Augustine Saiz (United States), Natasha McKibben (United States), and Nicolás González (Chile) for their remarkable accomplishments in the AO Trauma Research Olympiad 2025!
Gold medal winner
Augustine Saiz
(United States)
Silver medal winner
Natasha McKibben
(United States)
Bronze medal winner
Nicolás González
(Chile)
Abstracts
Over 30% of polytrauma patients with bone fractures suffer from impaired healing and nonunion due to persistent systemic inflammation. Existing biologic strategies for bone repair primarily focus on osteogenesis but are not designed to modulate systemic immune dysregulation, limiting their utility in the polytrauma setting. To overcome this, we developed a hyaluronic acid-based hydrogel (HA) incorporating osteogenic intrinsically disordered peptides (P2) and mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) to promote bone regeneration and modulate inflammation simultaneously. MSCs entrapped in hydrogels containing P2 (HA + P2) exhibited increased cell viability, alkaline phosphatase activity, and calcium deposition under in vitro polytrauma conditions compared to MSCs in hydrogels alone (HA). We utilized a murine polytrauma model (4 mm femoral osteotomy + blunt chest trauma) in mice. We studied the inflammatory response and bone formation over 21 days in mice treated with (1) HA, (2) HA + P2, or (3) HA + P2 + MSCs. We observed that adding P2 enhanced bone mineralization at the fracture site, yet transplantation of MSCs with P2 further increased mineralization. Both HA + P2 and HA + P2 + MSCs groups attenuated the systemic inflammatory response to near healthy baseline values. The HA + P2 group significantly accelerated the first stages of fracture healing by upregulating genes encoding for collagen biosynthesis, modifying enzymes, and extracellular matrix (ECM)-receptor interaction. Mice treated with HA + P2 + MSCs exhibited transcriptional regulation resulting in the upregulation of key repair genes related to cell cycle control, E2F transcriptional regulation, and TP53-mediated DNA repair, alongside downregulation of inflammatory pathways (IL-2, IL-3, and IL-5 signaling) and improved fracture healing. This study demonstrated that the combination of intrinsically disordered peptides and mesenchymal stem cells in HA-based hydrogels enhances bone formation, modulates both local and systemic inflammation, and improves structural organization at the fracture site in polytrauma conditions.
This study was published in Journal of Tissue Engineering (PMID: 41340773): https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41340773/
Augustine Mark Saiz Jr, MD, FACS, FAAOS
Assistant Professor, Orthopaedic Trauma Service
UC Davis Department of Orthopaedic Surgery
4860 Y Street, Suite 3800
Sacramento, CA 95817
Judges
An Sermon
Ayesha Saeed
Leah Gitajn
Mandeep Dhillon
Vincenzo Giordano
Ted Miclau
Alex Joeris
Geoff Richards
Past winners
AO Trauma Research Olympiad 2023
Gold medal winner
Kyle Schweser
(United States)
Silver medal winner
Colin Yung
(Hong Kong)
Bronze medal winner
Sandeep Patel
(India)
AO Trauma Research Olympiad 2022
Gold medal winner
Whee Sung Son
(South Korea)
Silver medal winner
Tiago Baumfeld
(Brazil)
Bronze medal winner
Justin Haller
(United States)
Abstracts
Application of an AO Foundation in-hospital, surgeon-led antiosteoporotic medication algorithm improves persistence to medication and can prevent the second fragility fracture. Results from a prospective cohort of 213 hip fracture patients.
Ι. Daskalakis, Ε. Kritsotakis, A. Karantanas, G. Kontakis, J. D. Bastian, T. H. Tosounidis
Ioannis Daskalakis – AO Trauma ESA candidate
Introduction: Secondary fracture prevention is an essential part of hip fracture treatment. Despite this, many patients are discharged without the appropriate anti-osteoporotic medication. The aim of this study is to report the outcomes of the application of an in-hospital, surgeon-led anti-osteoporotic medication algorithm to patients with hip fractures.
Materials and methods: This prospective cohort study followed patients with hip fractures who were treated at a tertiary referral hospital between 2020 and 2022. At discharge ,anti-osteoporotic medication according to the Arbeitsgemeinschaft fĂĽr Osteosynthesefragen (AO) Foundation algorithm was prescribed to all patients.Multivariate Cox regression analysis was used to investigate the risks of non-persistence to medication and of secondary fracture.
Results: Two hundred thirteen consecutive patients were prospectively followed. Mean follow-up was 17.2 ±7.1 months. Persistence to medication at 2 years was 58% (95%CI 51 – 65%). A secondary osteoporotic fracture occurred in 1/126 (0.8%) persistent patients and 9/87 (11.4%) non-persistent patients. Multivariable Cox regression analysis confirmed that non-persistence to medication was significantly associated with a lower risk of secondary fracture (cause-specific hazard ratio [csHR] 0.05; 95%CI 0.01 – 0.45; p = 0.007)
Conclusion: The application of the surgeon-led AO Foundation algorithm enables the in-hospital initiation of anti-osteoporotic treatment, leading to better persistence to medication and decreased incidence of secondary osteoporotic fractures.
Kyle Schweser MD*, Chantelle C. Bozynski DVM, MSc, Aaron M. Stoker PhD, Tamara Gull DVM, PhD, Dana Duren, PhD, James L. Cook DVM, PhD
Introduction: Acute fracture-related infections are challenging problems, affecting up to 20% of orthopaedic trauma patients. High recurrence rates, secondary surgeries, and rehospitalizations lead to increased healthcare costs and are major burdens to patients. Bacteriophage therapy offers a potential alternative treatment option to address these challenges. In previous studies, it has been shown to be effective against biofilm and bacterial clearance on orthopaedic implants, however, there are no current studies examining their effects on fracture healing for fracture-related infections. This study aims to provide evidence to support the use of bacteriophage therapy for treatment of fracture-related infections.
Methods: A canine model was used for this preclinical study. Based on sample size calculations and ethical care and use of animals, bilateral 1 cm ulnar defects (n=32; 16 dogs) were created and stabilized using plate and screw fixation1. Implants were incubated in a suspension of biofilm-producing Staphylococcus aureus (OJ1). Bacteriophages specifically cultivated against S. aureus (OJ1) were obtained. After 3 weeks, bone samples from fracture sites were cultured and surgical sites underwent irrigation and debridement (I&D) followed by 1 of 4 treatments (n=8/group): no additional treatment, 6 weeks of parenteral antibiotics, 7 days of bacteriophage therapy, or combination antibiotic/bacteriophage therapy. At 11 weeks, dogs were humanely euthanatized and bacterial load, callus formation, and histomorphometry for callus maturity and biofilm formation were assessed using quantitative microbial bone cultures, radiography and semi-quantitative histomorphometry.
Results: At 3 weeks, all dogs had confirmed infections. At 11 weeks, fractures that received bacteriophage therapy had statistically significant reductions in CFU/g when compared to those that did not receive bacteriophage. Fractures treated with bacteriophages had statistically significantly more robust callus formation on radiographs at 11 weeks, as well as, significantly decreased biofilm formation and statistically significant increase in bone formation on histology/histomorphometry when compared to fractures that did not receive bacteriophages.
Conclusion: Seven days of bacteriophage therapy is at least as good as 6 weeks of antibiotic therapy in terms of clearance of acute fracture related infections. It is superior in terms of reduction in CFU/g, better callus formation, and biofilm clearance. Further study is necessary to determine optimal treatment regimens.
Assessing Bone Mineral Density Using Radiographs of the Hand - The 2MCP Score
Silver N, Burton H, Bodansky D, Horwitz M
Natan Silver – AO Trauma ESA candidate
Background
Fragility fractures incur significant cost to quality of life and global healthcare systems with an annual financial burden of around £4.4 billion. Assessing bone health identifies patients at risk of osteoporotic fracture and is critical for preventing such injuries. The current reference-standard for quantifying bone density is dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DEXA), which requires referral to an equipped facility. We hypothesise that bone density can be measured with a simpler and more accessible method, using plain radiographs of the hand or wrist, thereby providing a more sustainable modality.
Methods
A retrospective cohort study was undertaken in two UK centres: An inner-city, high socioeconomic population and a suburban, low socioeconomic population. Age, gender, date of XR/fracture, date of DEXA, femoral neck t-score, and Second Metacarpal Cortical Percentage (2MCP) were collected. Inclusion Criteria were patients suffering a distal radius fracture between 2020-22 with hand or wrist radiographs and DEXA within 12-months of each other. Exclusion Criteria were inability to assess radiograph and overlying cast material/hardware.
2MCP was calculated using the smartphone app “BoneGauge”, which measures second metacarpal mid-diaphyseal cortical percentage on a true posteroanterior radiograph of the hand or wrist.
Pearson correlation coefficients were calculated to correlate 2MCP with femoral neck t-scores.
Results
188 patients were included (88 inner-city and 100 suburban).
The 2MCP score correlated positively with a t-score at the femoral neck in the inner-city cohort (r2=0.81, p<0.05), suburban cohort (r2=0.82, p<0.05), and pooled cohort (r2=0.81, p<0.05).
2MCP <50% was 100% sensitive and specific for osteoporosis. 2MCP <60% was 94% sensitive and 83% specific for osteopaenia.
Conclusion/Findings
Bone density may be assessed by calculating 2MCP from a simple radiograph of the hand. This takes 30-seconds to complete with no additional cost or training and negligible radiation, making it a more sustainable solution than traditional methods.
Event goals
The objectives of the event are to:
- Signify the importance of research within the AO Trauma community
- Enhance a culture of clinical and basic science research among AO Trauma members
- Further strengthen the bonds of the AO Trauma regions
- Establish a spirit of competitiveness, respect, and respect for the rules governing research across the AO Trauma regions and among AO Trauma members
- Give AO Trauma members the opportunity to present and to compete at a global level
- Promote the AO spirit of innovation and development of new concepts
Each AO Trauma region will select two candidates, who will be invited to Davos, Switzerland to present their research projects in the competition in December. AO Trauma seeks members who are interested in participating in this research project competition.
Why should you join?
The candidates will participate in the following activities:
- A visit to the AO Research Institute Davos (ARI) facilities and a get-together with ARI researchers and AO Innovation Translation Center (AO ITC) staff.
- Tour of the AO Davos Courses
- Dinner with invited guests
- AO Trauma Research Olympiad competition
- The detailed program will be announced at a later date.
Each AO Trauma region will select two candidates, who will be invited to Davos, Switzerland to present their research projects in the competition in December. Winners of the competition will receive gold, silver, and bronze medals as well as certificates. The costs of flights and four nights of lodging in Davos will be covered by AO Trauma.
What are the application criteria?
- Applicants must be 40 years old or younger.
- All the candidates need to be clinicians.
- Candidates may not have any other commitments during the days of the AO TRO program.
- Projects must be original clinical research that has not yet published or previously presented or published within the last 6 months at the time of application.
Candidates will present their research projects in front of a jury of five judges (one from each AO Trauma region). Jury members are selected by the AO Trauma Research Commission. The chairperson of the AO Trauma Research Olympiad is Peter Giannoudis, Leeds, United Kingdom.
Media gallery
2025 gallery
2023 gallery
Gallery 2022
Testimonials
“Research and innovation have always been a pillar of the AO Foundation. Now the 5 AO regions can send 2 candidates from each region to Davos, Switzerland. We give them the opportunity to share their projects on an international level”.
Peter Giannoudis
“I would like to highlight the great success of this initiative to support young clinician scientists. These research competitions are important as they motivate young clinicians to perform research while attracting the interest of the AO Foundation to new researchers.”
Anita Ignatius
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We are happy to answer your questions and provide you with additional information.