ECTS Steven Boonen Award
Nominations period: nominations will open in September 2026
In memory of Professor Steven Boonen, who sadly passed away during the ECTS 50th Anniversary Congress in Lisbon on 20 May 2013. ECTS would like to remember and honour Steven during its annual congress by introducing an annual Steven Boonen Clinical Research Award.
The recipient of this award will give a lecture at the annual meeting and receive a grant to be paid into the recipient’s institution or university account to contribute to specific research expenses.
Steven was an internationally recognised expert in the field of osteoporosis and metabolic bone disease, who was actively involved in bone disease research, education and patient care. His translational and clinical research activities focused on determinants of age-related skeletal fragility and on strategies to reduce fracture risk. Specific areas of expertise included musculoskeletal frailty, osteoporosis in old age and innovative trial design. He was an active and regular contributor to the ECTS congress for many years, and was also a member of the ECTS Board of Directors.
Eligibility
This award is open to medical doctors who have made significant progress and contribution to the field of clinical bone disease research, including epidemiological and pathophysiological aspects.
ECTS Board members are not eligible to this award during term of office in the ECTS Board.
To be eligible you must be a current member of ECTS.
The scientific profile of the candidate is the most important parameter that is evaluated.
In addition, number of years spent as member of ECTS and positions held inside the Society can also be considered.
Winners must wait five years before applying for another named award.
Nomination Procedure
Nominations are open till 15 December 2025
Nominees must be nominated and seconded by ECTS members, using the online form.
Review Procedure
All nominations are reviewed by an independent panel of reviewers. The final decision is based on the marks and comments from the reviewers and any conflicts of interest are identified and dealt with appropriately. The ECTS Grants and Awards Committee and ECTS Board will make the final decision based on scores and comments by the reviewers.
Winner of the 2026 Steven Boonen Award
Congratulations to Bente Langdahl, Aarhus University, Department of Endocrinology and Internal Medicine , recipient of the 2026 Steven Boonen Award. The award was presented during ECTS 2026 Congress in Girona.
For a full list of previous recipients of the Steven Boonen Award, please visit the Previous Grants section.
Bente Langdahl is a clinical reasearcher with a high experience in several bone diseases. She has covered several aspects ofbone fragility. She has conducted outstanding research providing original data in the field of osteoporosis, whetherpostmenopausal or in relation with drug_induced bone loss. She contributed to establish international guidelines abouttreatment initiation and discontinuation that are currently used by clinicians within and outside the bone field. She was able toraise awareness of the missing data about osteoporosis management, facilicitating the Research orientations for younginvestigators. She also developped an outstanding clinical research for osteogenesis imperfecta, underpinning the specificaspects and opening the way to new research pathways. Her contribution for the bone field is one of the most outstanding ofthe last 15 years.
Bente Langdahl was the President of the European Calcified Tissue Society.
