ECTS/Amgen Steven Boonen Award
Nominations are now open until 30 November 2021.
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 bone clinical bone disease research.
ECTS Board members are not eligible to this award during term of office in the ECTS Board.
Nomination Procedure
Nominations are now open until 30 November 2021.
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 2021 Steven Boonen Award
Congratulations to Cyrus Cooper, Professor, OBE, DL, FMedSci, Professor of Rheumatology and Director, Universities of Southampton and Oxford, Southampton, UK, recipient of the 2021 Steven Boonen Award. The award will be presented during ECTS Digital Congress 2021.
For a full list of previous recipients of the Steven Boonen Award, please visit the Previous Grants section.
Amgen has generously provided financial support for this Award. The company has in no way contributed to or influenced the content and review process.
Professor Cooper works as a clinical academic and leader of musculoskeletal research nationally and internationally. His significant contribution has been through the MRC unit in Southampton that he has led for almost 20 years. The unit has examined the epidemiology, pathophysiology and treatment of osteoporosis, osteoarthritis and occupational musculoskeletal disorders. His strategy for research combines different disciplines and has led to major contributions that underpins current patient care. His work includes epidemiology, linking health worker records of infant growth to adult skeletal health; large-scale randomised control trials, such as disease-modifying agents in osteoarthritis; and basic cellular and genetic work, such as describing the vitamin D sensitive epigenetic mechanisms in early life. He has also led several national and international professional societies to greater success. He has played a pivotal role in developing global consensus statements for many of the diseases we study today. This is evidenced by over 1000 peer-reviewed
publications, an h-index of 211 and continuous substantial grant funding for more than 30 years. He uses his keen intellect, detailed knowledge of the literature, humility and generosity to accelerate research in musculoskeletal sciences for patient benefit and inspire generations of researchers.
Taken together, Professor Cyrus Cooper is an exceptional role model for current and future researchers in the field.
