Research Grants

AANA Research Grants in Arthroscopic Surgery

AANA supports high-quality clinical and basic science research that advances arthroscopic surgery and disorders amenable to arthroscopic treatment. AANA Research Grants fund impactful studies that improve patient care, inform surgical decision-making and advance minimally invasive techniques.

 

Research Grant Application Status

The 2026 AANA Research Grant submission site is currently closed. Future application timelines will be announced on this page.

 

Research Grant Funding Overview

AANA distributes grants for clinical or basic science research in the field of arthroscopic surgery or disorders amenable to arthroscopic treatment. The funding pool will award up to $200,000. AANA plans to fund one project at $100,000, with preference for a multicenter trial, and additional projects at $50,000 and $25,000 for seed or pilot studies. Final award amounts may vary based on need and quality.

 

Evaluation Criteria

  • Scientific validity
  • Feasibility
  • Clinical Relevance
  • Ability to Complete

  • Arthroscopic meniscectomy vs. meniscus repair 

  • MPFL repair/reconstruction vs. physical therapy 

  • Bankart + remplissage vs. bone block procedure 

  • And additional comparative and outcomes-focused research topics

  • ACL repair and ACL augmentation
  • Osteoarthritis after ACL injury and surgery
  • Psychological resilience and surgical outcomes
  • Sleep disturbance and musculoskeletal pathology
  • Hip FAI Outcomes and Predicators of Outcome
  • Arthroscopic labral reconstruction (hip)
  • Shoulder bone loss management
  • Rotator cuff patch/bioinductive augmentation
  • Knee ALL or LET augmentation
  • Biologics, cell and injection therapies for: osteoarthritis, soft tissue pathology and as an adjunct to surgery
  • Innovations in surgical and nonsurgical interventions to accelerate recovery and healing
  • Interventions that leverage patient-reported outcomes and health measures to better assess operative and nonoperative treatment
  • Efforts to advance biologic, cell and injection therapies to augment surgical treatment or to avoid long-term sequela of injuries
  • Projects that provide comparative evaluations of surgical treatment variables
  • Preclinical investigations to provide foundational efforts for future studies

Submission Resources

Review the Submission Guidelines (PDF) and Frequently Asked Questions (PDF).

 

Past Research Grant Recipients

View past recipients of AANA's Research Grant Program.

 

Research Grant Support

Questions may be directed to AANA Research and Data Analyst Pablo Palafox-Castillo, M.S., at pablo@aana.org.

 

The AANA Research Grant is funded in part by the AANA Education Foundation thanks to generous donations from individuals and corporations, learn more here.

Scroll to top