AAPM&R Award Recipients

Each year, AAPM&R takes time to honor pioneering physiatrists, clinicians, researchers, and public servants who have made significant contributions to both the specialty and to individuals with disabilities and vulnerable populations at risk for disabilities.

View our 2024 Award Recipients below!

Frank H. Krusen, MD, Lifetime Achievement Award

Walter R. Frontera, MD, PhD, FRCP, FAAPMR

Dr. Frontera is professor in the Departments of Physical Medicine, Rehabilitation, and Sports Medicine and Physiology at the University of Puerto Rico (UPR). He completed a residency in PM&R at the UPR and a doctoral degree in exercise physiology at Boston University. Dr. Frontera has been professor and founding chair of three departments of PM&R at Harvard Medical School, Vanderbilt University and the UPR. He also served as dean of medicine at the UPR. Active in sports medicine, he was the founder and first director of the Center for Sports Health and Exercise Sciences of the UPR and the Puerto Rico Olympic Committee.

His main research interest is the study of muscle dysfunction and the benefits of exercise in older adults. He was the first to demonstrate muscle hypertrophy in older adults after strength training. Dr. Frontera has authored more than 350 scientific publications including 19 edited books. Currently, he serves as the Editor-in- Chief of The American Journal of PM&R.

At the U.S. National Institutes of Health, he has been a permanent member of several scientific review panels, the Board of Scientific Counselors of the NIH Clinical Center, the Council of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and the Blue-Ribbon Panel appointed by the NIH Director to assess the status of rehabilitation research across NIH.

He is an elected fellow of AAPM&R, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Royal College of Physicians, the American Physiological Society, and the American College of Sports Medicine. Dr. Frontera has received several awards including the Best Scientific Research Paper (three times) and AAPM&R’s Distinguished Member Award, the Sydney Licht Award of the International Society of PM&R, the Excellence in Rehabilitation of Aging Persons Award of the Gerontological Society of America, the NYU Rusk Award, and the Mayo Clinic Krusen Visiting Professorship.

He was president of the International Society for PM&R and of the International Federation of Sports Medicine. He has been a member of three committees of the World Health Organization (WHO) and is the current co-chair of the WHO/World Rehabilitation Alliance Research Workstream. Dr. Frontera has presented invited lectures in 64 countries and is an honorary member of national PM&R societies in Belgium, Chile, Dominican Republic, Basque Country, Italy, Japan and Mexico.

Distinguished Member Award

Theresa A. Gillis, MD, FAAPMR

Dr. Gillis is the chief of the Rehabilitation Medicine Service at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK), associate attending physiatrist at Memorial Hospital, and associate clinical professor of Rehabilitation Medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College. She is the incumbent chair of The Society of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. An AAPM&R member since residency, she is proud to serve on the Academy’s Medical Education Committee.

Dr. Gillis has extensive leadership experience in the development and growth of Cancer Rehabilitation programs. She began her career at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center as their first full-time physiatrist and served as their inaugural chief of Rehabilitation Service, where she guided multiple structural changes to the program. Dr. Gillis was recruited to the role of service chief for Rehabilitation at MSK in 2015. The service under her leadership has transformed to bring physiatrists to Sloan Kettering’s multiple Manhattan and regional outpatient sites to ease access for patients. She has developed embedded clinics for faculty in multidisciplinary bone metastasis, spine and brain tumor centers, and expanded the consultative service to address the unique challenges of oncology patients in acute care.

She earned her medical degree from Northeastern Ohio Medical University, completing residency in physical medicine and rehabilitation at Baylor College of Medicine and obtaining several board-certifications. Her areas of academic and research interest include improving functional assessments of patients in cancer treatment, increasing the accuracy of attribution of symptomatology, and exploring the feasibility of new models of care such as prehabilitation. Through her roles as a clinician, author and educator she has inspired many residents and colleagues to embrace care of cancer patients and expanded the visibility of this career focus.

Craig M. McDonald, MD, FAAPMR

Dr. McDonald is distinguished professor and chair of Physical Medicine& Rehabilitation and distinguished professor of Pediatrics at University of California Davis Health. He also serves as the director of the Neuromuscular Disease Clinics at UC Davis and Shriners Hospital for Children, Northern California in Sacramento. Dr. McDonald was the first physiatrist to be promoted to the above scale rank of distinguished professor in the University of California system. For the past 12 years, he has been the only PM&R physician to serve as a site principal investigator for the NIH NINDS NeuroNEXT clinical trials consortium. Dr. McDonald received his medical degree from the University of Washington and pursued Pediatric and PM&R training at UCLA and University of Washington respectively. He has been in academic practice for 32 years.

Dr. McDonald is an internationally recognized translational physician scientist in the fields of Pediatric Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation and Neuromuscular Medicine whose pioneering work and leadership of international multicenter consortiums has greatly contributed to the FDA approvals of five gene-targeted treatments for Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) improving survival and quality of lives of persons with this genetic condition.

He has published more than 250 peer-reviewed articles. In 2019, he received both the Distinguished Researcher Award by American Association of Neuromuscular and Electrodiagnostic Medicine, and the Carolyn Braddom Ritzler Research Award from the Association of Academic Physiatrists. In 2023 his article on cell therapy for severe non-ambulatory DMD patients published in the Lancet received a Top 10 Clinical Research Achievement Award selected nationally by the Clinical Research Forum.

PM&R Public Service, Health Equity and Advocacy Award

Benjamin A. Abramoff, MD, MS, FAAPMR

Dr. Abramoff is an assistant professor of Physical Medication and Rehabilitation at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine. He serves at the director of Spinal Cord Injury Services at the Penn Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine and is also the founder and director of Penn Medicine’s Post-COVID Assessment and Recovery Clinic. This is one of the first comprehensive clinics for Post-COVID care in the country, and to date, has treated more than 2,000 patients.

Since the clinic’s inception, Dr. Abramoff has worked with researchers across the University of Pennsylvania and other academic institutions to learn more about the causes and optimal treatments for Long COVID, including groundbreaking research looking into the immunologic and metabolomic foundations of Long COVID. He is also leading an NIH-funded study investigating a comprehensive physical and cognitive rehabilitation program for Long COVID.

Considered a national expert, he helped to develop and serves as the co-chair of AAPM&R’s Post-COVID Clinic Collaborative made up of over 40 post-COVID clinics nationally. Through this effort, the collaborative has developed eight guidance statements on the management of Long COVID, developed clinical infrastructure guidance for new and developing Long COVID clinics, and advocated for clinicians treating patients with Long COVID.

Dr. Abramoff is a graduate of Cornell University in Ithaca, NY, and the Ohio State University College of Medicine in Columbus, OH, where he received a concurrent master’s degree in Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, specializing in Health Education. Dr. Abramoff completed a physical medicine and rehabilitation residency at Emory University in Atlanta, GA, and subspecialty training in spinal cord injury medicine at the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab of the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University.

Annette Grotheer, MD, MPH

Dr. Grotheer is a board-certified Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation physician and a current Pain Fellow at the University of Washington in Seattle. She completed her residency at Northwestern University in Chicago, IL, and earned her medical degree along with a Master of Public Health from the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. She also holds a bachelor's degree in psychology from the University of Colorado Boulder.

Throughout her career, she has secured over $70k in grants through The Shop Docs, a non-profit she founded to improve health in black communities. Dr. Grotheer is also actively involved in the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus Foundation Brain Trust and Shirley Ryan's Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and Medical Care Committees. She has been a member of AAPM&R since 2021.

In 2023, Dr. Grotheer was honored with several awards, including recognition from Chicago 300 Black Women, NMQF’s 40 Under 40 Leaders in Health, and Black Health Connect’s 40 Under 40.

Mooyeon Oh-Park, MD, FAAPMR

Dr. Mooyeon Oh-Park has been an outstanding clinician, educator, researcher, administrator and patient advocate throughout her 30-year career as a physiatrist. She earned her medical degree from Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea, her Master's degree in Clinical Research Methods from Albert Einstein College of Medicine, and a Master's in Health Care Management from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

Dr. Oh-Park is the chief medical officer and senior vice president of Burke Rehabilitation Hospital, White Plains, NY, and a professor at the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Montefiore Health System, New York, NY. She is also the chair of AAPM&R’s Age-Friendly Care in the Rehabilitation Member Community.

With the global aging trend and the rise in chronic diseases leading to disabilities, she champions rehabilitation as a crucial strategy to prevent these issues. Her advocacy extends to the value of rehabilitation services across the care continuum and in the community. Under her leadership, Burke achieved the level II Age-Friendly Health System Designation from the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, the lowest 30-day readmission rate in the country, doubled the size of PM&R residency, and created fellowships in Brain Injury Medicine and Sports Medicine.

She championed a clinical trial of CatchU, a digital health app, in fall prevention for older adults, implementing neurological music therapy for the neuro population, and exploring an adaptive art therapy with CoFRIDA robot for individuals with disabilities. She published more than 100 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters and offered 150 presentations and educational sessions in rehabilitation. She received 17 teaching awards and several additional recognitions for her exceptional leadership as a healthcare administrator. She has mentored hundreds of trainees who are now thriving in their careers.

2024 PASSOR Legacy Award and Lectureship

Stuart E. Willick, MD, FAAPMR

Dr. Willick is a sports medicine physician at the University of Utah Orthopaedic Center. He completed residency at the University of Washington and fellowship at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago. He first joined PASSOR as a resident in 1997. Dr. Willick’s clinical practice focuses on exercise approaches in the rehabilitation of recreational and elite athletes. His research focus is sports injury prevention. He is the program director of the multi-disciplinary sports medicine fellowship at the University of Utah, the head team physician for the national champion University of Utah Ski Team, and medical director of the Snowbird Ski Clinic. Dr. Willick has been the team and event physician for numerous local, national and international sporting events. He has also served as team physician for the U.S. Ski and Snowboard teams, U.S. Speedskating, USA Climbing, U.S. Bobsled and Skeleton and the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee. Dr. Willick has worked at 11 Olympic and Paralympic Games, including two stints as medical director for the International Paralympic Committee, and looks forward to welcoming the world back to Salt Lake City for the 2034 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Early PM&R Career Award

Berdale S. Colorado, DO, MPH, FAAPMR

Dr. Colorado is the assistant dean for Student Experience at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Heersink School of Medicine. He is an associate professor in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. He serves as vice chair of Education, program director for the PM&R Residency, program director for the Interventional Spine and Musculoskeletal Medicine Fellowship, chief of Sports and Musculoskeletal Medicine, and medical director for Performing Arts Medicine. He is also a team physician for UAB Athletics. Dr. Colorado completed his PM&R Residency at the Medical College of Wisconsin, where he served as chief resident. He then completed a Sports Medicine and Interventional Spine Fellowship at Washington University in St. Louis. After Fellowship, he was on Faculty at Washington University Department of Orthopedic Surgery for eight years.

He represents PM&R in the Sports Medicine Board Examination Committee, and has been an Oral Board examiner for ABPMR since 2019. Dr. Colorado has served on multiple committees for AAPM&R including the Clinical Practice Guidelines Committee, Graduate Medical Education Committee, Orthobiologics Technical Expert Panel, and is an examiner for the STEP Ultrasound Program. He will be graduating from the AAPM&R Future Leaders Program at the end of 2024.

Dr. Colorado has been recognized with multiple awards nationally and within his institution. In 2018, he was an inaugural recipient of the 20 under 40 Award by the North American Spine Society, one of only two physiatrists on this list. In 2017, he was awarded the President’s Research Initiative Award by the AANEM and was Golseth Young Investigator Award First Runner Up.

His clinical and research interests include musculoskeletal and neuromuscular ultrasound, electrodiagnostics, adaptive sports, regenerative medicine, interventional spine and performing arts medicine. He has lectured nationally and has authored numerous peer-reviewed articles and book chapters on topics related to sports, spine, and musculoskeletal medicine.

Adam Tenforde, MD, FAAPMR

Dr. Tenforde is an associate professor in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Harvard Medical School. He is a sports medicine physician at Spaulding Rehabilitation, and a member of the Mass General Brigham healthcare system. Dr. Tenforde is the director of Shockwave Medicine and Running Medicine at the Spaulding National Running Center – one of the only centers in the United States exclusively dedicated to the diagnosis and treatment of running-related injuries. He has the unique perspective of being both a doctor and a former professional runner who was an All-American at Stanford University where he contributed to three NCAA National Team Championships and later qualified for the Olympic trials. He completed medical school, PM&R residency and sports fellowship training at Stanford University Medical Center prior to joining the faculty at Spaulding Rehabilitation.

His research has focused on understanding modifiable risk factors for stress fractures, tendinopathy and other running injuries and interventions to address these injuries including use of extracorporeal shockwave. His expertise has been recognized including serving as co-chair to develop the first Youth Running Consensus Statement, selection to the Collaborative Research Network Youth Sport Specialization group for American Medical Society for Sports Medicine, and content expert for the International Olympic Committee Relative Energy Deficiency in Sports updated consensus statement in 2018.

In the telehealth space, he was selected for AAPM&R’s task force where he led the development of a white paper that defines the future of telehealth for the specialty of PM&R. He has also contributed to workforce gender equity research in the field of PM&R with goals to ensure opportunities for all physicians in the specialty.

Vovanti T. Jones, MD, FAAPMR

Dr. Jones is an associate professor of Clinical Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the University of Missouri. She received her medical degree from the Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine. Dr. Jones completed her residency in PM&R at Schwab Rehabilitation Hospital in Chicago. She specializes in the rehabilitation of patients with neuromuscular diseases and neurological disorders with special focus on Stroke. Dr. Jones is the medical director of the Stroke inpatient rehabilitation unit at Rusk Rehabilitation Hospital, and co-director of the University of Missouri’s Muscular Dystrophy Association Clinic and the ALS Center of Excellence. Her research focuses on optimizing functional outcomes and adaptive equipment use in patients with neurologic disorders was well as participating in clinical trials for people with neuromuscular disorders.

She has a strong interest in advocacy for persons with disabilities. Yearly she works with the Disabled Athletes Sports Association to show case adaptive sports to the local community. She regularly contributes articles to LGMD News, the magazine for people in the Limb-Girdle muscular Dystrophy.

Dr. Jones is currently serves as the chair of AAPM&R’s African American Member Community and is a member of the Diversity Equity and Inclusion Committee. She is also a member of the Association of Academic Physiatrists and the American Association of Neuromuscular and Electrodiagnostic Medicine.

PM&R Awareness and Value Award

Matthew Grierson, MD, FAAPMR

Dr. Grierson is a board-certified PM&R sports medicine physician and the owner of Sound Spine and Joint Physicians, a practice in Seattle, Washington. With a BFA in modern dance, Dr. Grierson has a unique understanding of how movement shapes individual identity. He is dedicated to helping patients of all ages, abilities, and functional levels.

Dr. Grierson earned his medical degree from Boston University and completed his PM&R residency and sports medicine fellowship at the University of Washington, where he also served as chief resident. He co-founded Seattle Dance and Performing Arts Medicine (SeaPAM), a non-profit providing free medical care to local performing artists. He is a board member and treasurer for the International Association for Dance Medicine and Science (IADMS), supporting optimal health, well-being, training, and performance for dancers globally. Additionally, he has served as a team physician for the two-time Major League Rugby champions, the Seattle Seawolves.

As a staunch advocate for PM&R physicians and their patients, Dr. Grierson chairs the Academy’s Reimbursement and Policy Review Committee, where he spearheads member education and reimbursement advocacy. Notably, he is the first PM&R physician to secure a seat on the American Medical Association’s (AMA’s) Relative Value Scale Update Committee (RUC). Dr. Grierson has dedicated more than 15 years on the Washington State Medical Association (WSMA) board and currently serves as Speaker of the WSMA House of Delegates. Additionally, he has been an active member of the PM&R Section Council for over a decade, helping to advance our Academy’s advocacy agenda within the AMA’s House of Delegates.

Carlo J.E. Milani, MD, MBA, FAAPMR

Dr. Carlo Milani is an assistant attending physiatrist at Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) in the Department of Physiatry. He is also an assistant professor of Clinical Rehabilitation Medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College. Dr. Milani earned his medical degree from Tulane University School of Medicine and his MBA from the Tulane Freeman School of Business. Dr. Milani completed residency in Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation at the University of Washington in Seattle. He completed his fellowship training in interventional spine and sports medicine at HSS in 2018. Dr. Milani’s clinical practice includes the non-operative treatment of acute sports injuries, musculoskeletal conditions, spine disorders, and electrodiagnosis focused on spine and peripheral nerve injuries. Dr. Milani is also involved in clinical research at HSS evaluating various aspects of spine and peripheral nerve injuries. Additionally, he trains residents from the New York Presbyterian/Weill Cornell PM&R program and fellows from the ACGME and NASS sports and spine fellowships at HSS.

In addition to his dedication to patient care and academic medicine, Dr. Milani is a passionate advocate for physicians and their patients as evidenced by his volunteerism. Dr. Milani first began volunteering with AAPM&R on the Resident Physician's Council (now PHiT Council). Dr. Milani has served on the Academy’s Reimbursement and Policy Review Committee since 2017. He is the Academy’s Advisor and primary advocacy voice for PM&R to the American Medical Association’s (AMA’s) Relative Value Scale Update Committee (RUC). Dr. Milani also serves as the Academy’s Alternate Delegate to the AMA House of Delegates, working to advance all facets of the Academy’s advocacy agenda.

Theresa M. Oney, MD, FAAPMR

Dr. Oney is a board-certified Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Specialist with a focus on non-surgical management of pain and musculoskeletal disorders. She completed her undergraduate studies at the University of Michigan, attended medical school at Michigan State University, and completed her internship at Hurley Hospital in Flint, Michigan. Dr. Oney completed her residency in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.

She has published research and has extensive experience in both outpatient and inpatient rehabilitation settings. She currently runs a private practice in Grosse Pointe, Michigan, and holds privileges with Corewell Hospital. Dr. Oney serves as a board member for United Physicians and as a faculty member at Oakland University School of Medicine. She has also chaired AAPM&R’s African American Member Community and is a member of our Health Legislation and Policy Committee.

Dr. Oney is dedicated to enhancing and restoring functional ability and quality of life for those with pain and physical impairments. She is committed to providing quality healthcare with empathy and compassion as well as listening to her patients' needs. Beyond her medical career, Dr. Oney has been a City Council member since 2019, re-elected in 2023. She is passionate about ensuring healthcare access and equity, especially for minority communities, and is an active and enthusiastic member of her community.

2024 Awards Committee 

Thank You for Nominating

Thank you to all members who participated in this year’s awards nominations! 2025 Nominations will open in March; watch phyzforum.org for details.

Award Descriptions

• AAPM&R Award Descriptions 

Past Award Recipients

• Past AAPM&R Award Recipients