Behrooz A. Akbarnia, MD, and Randal R. Betz, MD, received the Scoliosis Research Society Lifetime Achievement Awards, according to an AAOS Now report.
Dr. Akbarnia is the president of the San Diego Spine Foundation and previously received the SRS Humanitarian Award in 2008. He is medical director for the San Diego Center for Spinal Disorders in La Jolla, Calif., and a professor in the department of orthopedic surgery at the University of California, San Diego. He is spear-heading the Growing Spine Study Group, an international study group working to improve care for young children with early onset scoliosis.
Dr. Betz has more than 30 years of experience caring for children and adults with spinal conditions. He holds 10 U.S. patents for new treatments for scoliosis and is the co-editor of four medical textbooks on spine surgery as well as one on pediatric spinal cord injury. He was president of the Scoliosis Research Society in 2005 and is a senior mentor for the Scoliosis Research Society Traveling Fellowship.