AAO Announces 2026 Research Award Winners

The association has named the winners of the Milo Hellman, Harry Sicher, and Thomas M Graber awards, who will present at the 2026 Annual Session.

The American Association of Orthodontists (AAO) Council on Scientific Affairs has announced the 2026 recipients of the Milo Hellman Research Award, the Harry Sicher Research Award, and the Thomas M Graber Awards of Special Merit.

The awards will be presented to the recipients on May 1 during the 2026 AAO Annual Session in Orlando.

Award Presentations and Lectures

Following the presentation, the recipients will give lectures on their research from 12:15 pm to 2:30 pm in the Orange County Convention Center, Room W312A. Attendees can earn 0.25 CE credits for each lecture.

The 2026 award winners and their research topics are:

Milo Hellman Research Award: Dr Ashleigh Kmentt of UNC-Chapel Hill for “3D Evaluation of Treatment Outcomes for Miniplate-Anchored Class II Growth Modification.”
Harry Sicher Research Award: Dr Emilee Dudley of Texas A&M for “Vitamin D and Postnatal Mandibular Condyle Growth.”
Thomas M Graber Awards of Special Merit:
- Dr Christine Esposito of UNC-Chapel Hill for “Longitudinal Outcomes of Bone Anchored Maxillary Protraction Treatment.”
- Dr Elizabeth Celani of Texas A&M for “Use of Customized Alloplastic Temporomandibular Joint Replacement in Skeletally Immature Patients.”
- Dr Bethany Cook of the University of Michigan for “Mechanical Properties of Thermoplastic and 3-D Printed Thermoset Orthodontic Aligner Materials.”