The AAFPRS Outstanding Abstract Award offers two travel grants to encourage residents and medical students to explore careers in facial plastic and reconstructive surgery—and support their attendance at the AAFPRS Annual Meeting. These grants are awarded to the most outstanding abstracts primarily authored by an AAFPRS resident member or medical student member. This year’s recipients include:

• Anne Y. Feng, MD, Rutgers-New Jersey Medical School for her paper titled “Composition and Warping Tendencies of Costal Cartilage Grafts.”
• Christopher Park, MD, Purdue University, Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering for his paper titled “Preclinical Evaluation of In-situ Scaffold-forming Collagen for Volume Augmentation.”

The Fatima Porter-EL Mitchell Excellence in Fellowship Award recognizes an AAFPRS member who exemplifies a prevailing effort and attitude of excellence in a significant way, within the context of the AAFPRS Fellowship Program. We are pleased to announce that this year’s recipient is Gregory H. Branham, MD, who has been a stalwart supporter of the Fellowship Committee and the Fellowship Review Committee (FRC) for many years. He has provided expert management of these programs with tremendous dedication and a great sacrifice of personal time. Dr. Branham was instrumental in helping to develop and launch the Accreditation Council for Post-Residency Specialty Education (ACPSE) in 2015, chairing the FRC during its transition from being an AAFPRS Foundation committee to being the new ACPSE FRC. His leadership and oversight of the ACPSE FRC during its initial years of operation helped to meaningfully establish the fellowship review process for this new accrediting body to evaluate and accredit the training and competency of facial plastic surgery fellowship programs. Presently, Dr. Branham now serves as the Secretary of the ACPSE Board of Directors, where he continues to help advance the quality of the AAFPRS Fellowship Program. 

The William Wright Award for Excellence in Mentorship and Service may be presented each year to an AAFPRS member who has made outstanding contributions to facial plastic and reconstructive surgery by demonstrating a continual commitment to mentorship of younger members in the Academy or noteworthy service to the AAFPRS. This year’s recipient is Leslie R. Kim, MD, for her profound and measurable impact on the future of facial plastic and reconstructive surgery—particularly in advancing opportunities, visibility, and mentorship for women in the field. As chair of the AAFPRS Women in Facial Plastic Surgery (WFPS) Committee, she helped further transform our WFPS initiative into one of the most dynamic and well attended programs at the Academy’s Annual Meeting—while further advancing meaningful networking and mentoring opportunities among our WFPS. Her leadership was also instrumental in transitioning our WFPS luncheon into a new, formal “Women in Facial Plastic Surgery Symposium” on Wednesday of the  2025 AAFPRS Annual Meeting.

The F. Mark Rafaty Memorial Lifetime Achievement Award may be presented each year to any AAFPRS member who, during their professional lifetimes, have made creative and innovative contributions of outstanding significance to the specialty of facial plastic and reconstructive surgery and the missions of the Academy and the Foundation. This year’s recipient has contributed through meaningful governance leadership; dynamic involvement in AAFPRS educational programs, and impactful contributions in the areas of research and service. Receiving this special award is Theda C. Kontis, MD, who has demonstrated leadership through years of participation on the AAFPRS Board of Directors and via a wide range of Academy and Foundation committees. Dr. Kontis is also a past president the AAFPRS and the current president of the ABFPRS—making her the first woman to rise to the presidency of both organizations. She has and continues to be a lifelong role model and mentor for so many AAFPRS junior (and senior) members, inspiring others to excellent in their own roles as facial plastic surgeons and leaders within our specialty. Dr. Kontis also has been a part of the Johns Hopkins facial plastic surgery fellowship program and has been instrumental in encouraging residents and fellows to be actively involved in the AAFPRS immediately after graduation—and for then for their full professional lifespan. She is a leading author of a major textbook which has brought a great spotlight on AAFPRS members' expertise in the world of filler and preventing complications. Dr. Kontis is very involved in formal mentorship for women in facial plastic surgery and has been instrumental in so many great changes and advancements within AAFPRS the last two decades. On a personal level, she is humble, compassionate, and a great clinician and exemplifies the spirit of this award.

The John Dickinson Teacher of the Year Award honors an AAFPRS member who has demonstrated excellence in teaching in facial plastic surgery. The recipient possesses a track record of superb teaching at any level and across any medium, including traditional, didactic style teaching of medical students, residents, fellows, or peers, or alternative teaching methods such as creation of online educational content or hands-on training sessions. Nominees may have developed high-quality, enduring educational content that applies to a wide audience, or contributed similarly to the education of Academy members. This year’s recipient is Mark K. Wax, MD, who was nominated for his many years of dedication to the education of learners at all levels throughout our Academy and our specialty, utilizing a wide variety of innovative approaches to advance the field. He is noted as an incredibly knowledgeable, creative and passionate program director who has mentored many—and is a true supporter of resident and fellow training. Dr. Wax’s nationally recognized fellowship and resident programs have trained a wide array of highly skilled physicians—while, at the same time, his teaching has done much to meaningfully advance the quality and depth of reconstructive surgery over the last two decades. Lastly, he is a steadfast beacon of inspiration, combined with a levelheaded approach to the many predicaments that arise in our field—and these unique teaching attributes have and continue to serve his junior faculty, fellows, and residents exceptionally well.

The AAFPRS Exemplary Community Service Award may be presented each year to an AAFPRS member who has distinguished himself/herself by providing and making possible free medical service to the underserved in a chosen community. The awardee has demonstrated continued and ongoing efforts to improve the lives of the underprivileged, either domestically or abroad. John Frodel, MD, has been named the 2025 recipient of this award, based upon his decades of dedication, service and personal sacrifices to find ways to provide much needed medical service to underserved communities around the globe. In particular, he has extensive experience providing humanitarian surgical care to those wounded in war zones—initially via medical mission trips to Croatia in the 1990’s and most recently by envisioning and helping to orchestrate the first AAFPRS FACE TO FACE reconstructive surgery mission to Ukraine. Dr. Frodel has now courageously returned for many other Ukraine mission trips, further exemplifying the spirit of this award with his unwavering commitment to serving those in need, even amid war zones.

The AAFPRS Rising Star Award may be presented each year to an AAFPRS member in the first decade of their career who has demonstrated exceptional promise, commitment, and potential in the field of facial plastic and reconstructive surgery. The awardee should exemplify the qualities of a future leader through their contributions to clinical practice, research, education, or service to the AAFPRS. Their dedication and achievements during the early stages of their career should set them apart as a rising star, poised to make significant and lasting contributions to the specialty. Natalie Krane, MD, is the 2025 recipient of this award—nominated for this honor by three separate peer submitters! Her nominators cited her as a highly skilled surgeon, gifted teacher, a sought-after invited speaker both nationally and internationally, and an amazing contributor to clinical practice, research, education, and service to the AAFPRS. Additionally, Dr. Krane is also vice chair of the AAFPRS Patient Safety, Quality Improvement and Accreditation Committee, Co-Chair (and co-founding creator) of the newly launched AAFPRS Wellness and Longevity Task Force, an AAFPRS Foundation RISE Review Group Reviewer, and a Sub-Group Lead on the AAFPRS Education Reimagination Project Task Force.

The John Orlando Roe Award is named after the surgeon who accomplished the first rhinoplasty in 1887, includes a certificate and recognition, along with two hours of research mentoring time to the graduate fellow who submits the best clinical research paper written during fellowship. The AAFPRS Foundation is pleased to present this year’s award to Jeffrey T. Gu, MD (2023-2024 fellow of Jeffrey S. Moyer, MD) for his paper, “Selective Neurectomy with Regenerative Peripheral Nerve Interfaces for Facial Synkinesis.”

The Sir Harold Delf Gilles Award is named after Sir Harold Delf Gillies, a British otolaryngologist who, in September 1917, described the tubed pedicle flap. Dr. Gillies frequently visited the U.S. and lectured widely to surgeons of various specialties and was given the title “Father of Plastic Surgery.” A certificate and recognition are provided, along with two hours of research mentoring time to the graduate fellow who submits the best science research paper written during fellowship. The AAFPRS Foundation presents this year’s award to Christopher M. Shumrick, MD (2023-2024 fellow of Yadro Ducic, MD) for his paper, “Pre-Radiation vs. Post-Radiation Functional Outcomes of Sural Nerve Autografting for Facial Nerve Reconstruction.”

VIEW a complete list of all Award Recipients.