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At the conclusion of the Annual Business Meeting at the 2026 Academy Annual Meeting and Scientific Symposium Friday morning, the Academy recognized outstanding contributions across the orthotics and prosthetics profession, honoring clinicians, educators, researchers, students, and leaders whose work advances patient care and professional excellence.

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Michelle Hall Receives Carlton Fillauer Award

 

The ceremony opened with the presentation of the Carlton Fillauer Award for Outstanding Contributions to Prosthetic Science and Practice, one of the profession’s most prestigious honors. Presented annually since 2014, the award is supported by the Fillauer family through the O&P Foundation and recognizes sustained impact on prosthetic science and clinical practice.

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Michael Fillauer took the stage to present the 2026 award to Michelle Hall, MS, CPO, LPO, FAAOP(D). “On behalf of the family of Carlton Fillauer, it is my honor to present this year’s Carlton Fillauer Award… to Michelle Hall,” he said.

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Hall, a prosthetics team lead and residency director at Gillette Children’s, has spent more than 18 years advancing pediatric prosthetic outcomes and mentoring clinicians. She currently chairs the Academy’s State-of-the-Science Program Committee and is a past president of the Academy.

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Accepting the honor, Hall reflected on the collective support behind her career. “I am deeply humbled and grateful… to follow in the namesake’s legacy, but also that of the recipients before me,” she said.

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She credited her employer and colleagues for enabling her dual focus on clinical care and research. “They allowed me to work as a full-time clinician and dedicate time toward research, dissemination, and lecturing,” she said.

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Hall also encouraged fellow clinicians to contribute to the profession’s knowledge base. “As a clinician, it is possible to conduct research and share that knowledge… We just need to be curious and keep chipping away at it,” she said.

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Academy President Gerald Stark, PhD, MSEM, CPO/L, FAAOP(D), congratulated Hall and underscored the importance of supporting the O&P Foundation, calling it “the only foundation of its kind in our profession.”

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Academy Awards Recognize Clinical and Educational Excellence

 

The Academy then presented its 2026 professional awards, introduced by Tiffany Graham, MSPO, C/LPO, FAAOP(D), recognizing individuals whose work strengthens clinical care, education, and research across the profession.

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The Clinical Creativity Award honored Robert Dodson, CPO, FAAOP, clinical manager at Arm Dynamics California and an upper-limb prosthetic specialist known for innovative solutions that restore independence. Dodson trained in biomedical science at Texas A&M University and prosthetics and orthotics at UT Southwestern, and he is widely recognized for patient-centered approaches that enable functional milestones such as drinking independently or grasping objects for the first time.

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The Outstanding Educator Award recognized Bryan C. Roehr, CPO/L, assistant teaching professor in the University of Washington Department of Rehabilitation Medicine. A graduate of the UW P&O program with clinical training at Newington Children’s Hospital, Roehr focuses on lower-extremity orthotics and prosthetics across the lifespan and has made a lasting impact on students through hands-on teaching and mentorship.

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The Research Award was presented to Jason M. Wilken, PT, PhD, associate professor and director of graduate and collaborative research programs in the University of Iowa Department of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Science. Wilken’s work bridges rehabilitation science and orthotics and prosthetics, advancing understanding of mobility, biomechanics, and clinical outcomes for individuals with limb loss.

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The Clinical Commitment Award honored Mark S. Hopkins, PT, CPO, MBA, president and CEO of Dankmeyer, Inc., recognizing more than three decades of leadership in comprehensive orthotics and prosthetics care, education, and research. A dual-trained prosthetist-orthotist and physical therapist with graduate business training from Johns Hopkins University, Hopkins has long championed ethical practice and professional responsibility in O&P.

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Honorary Academy Membership was presented to Todd R. Farrell, PhD, CEO of Liberating Technologies, Inc., acknowledging his influential contributions to upper-limb prosthetic technology and myoelectric control. Farrell leads federally funded research initiatives across multiple agencies and has advanced innovative solutions addressing complex challenges in prosthetic function and usability.

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Supporting Emerging Voices and Student Research

 

The meeting also highlighted the next generation of O&P professionals. The Empowering Emerging Voices Scholarship, sponsored by Thuasne and the Academy’s Collaborative on Inclusive Action and Engagement, was awarded to Anilyn Benge, MPO, for her research on health disparities and spinal presentation in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis.

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The Academy also presented the inaugural John Michael Student Poster Awards, established to honor the legacy of educator and leader John Michael, CPO, FAAOP, FISPO.

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Third place was awarded to Liliana Heyd for research on enhancing polypropylene materials.

Second place went to Julia Perline, MSPO, Harrison Linsley, Jiera Shears, and Brianna Bronner for work on limb placement and crawling stability in infants with limb loss.

First place was awarded to Christian Maron for research on prosthetic foot-ankle stiffness and gait mechanics in transfemoral prosthesis users.

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New Fellows and Fellow with Distinction Inducted

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The ceremony concluded with induction of the 2026 Academy Fellows class — Abbey Gilhooly-Senczyszyn, CPO, MBA, MPO, and Michael L. McCauley, MS, CPO/L — recognizing sustained professional achievement and commitment to excellence.

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Kristin J. Carnahan, MSPO, CPO, was inducted as Fellow with Distinction, the Academy’s highest professional designation, honoring exceptional leadership, scholarship, and service to the profession.

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Closing the ceremony, Stark congratulated all honorees and welcomed the new Fellows, celebrating a profession strengthened by dedication across generations of clinicians, researchers, and educators.