NESO News

Resident Research Program Updates

The NESO Resident Research Program serves to enhance and encourage a collaborative relationship between NESO and the orthodontic training programs in our region while awarding and supporting residents in training. Residents are required to submit an application and a one-page research proposal.  The proposals are reviewed by a NESO Resident Research Award Committee that consists of faculty members from three different orthodontic programs with the NESO boundaries.  Winners receive a $4,000 monetary award, which is to be used for research purposes.

SUBMISSION DEADLINE EXTENDED: July 17, 2020

Visit the NESO website for full details and submission guidelines.


We are pleased to announce NESO orthodontic resident, Dr. Saro Atam from Stony Brook University, School of Dental Medicine, was the winner of the JCO Student of the Year and the Charles Burstone Research Aid Award in 2020. We congratulate Dr. Atam on his accomplishments and wish him the best for a bright future in orthodontics.


The Eugene L. Gottlieb JCO Student of the Year
Any orthodontic department in the United States can nominate a current student for the award. A panel of editors, moderated by JCO Editor, Dr. Robert Keim, review all applications and select 12 finalists. Finalists must submit all relevant case materials in the American Board of Orthodontics (ABO) format. A wider panel of JCO editors evaluate the finalists’ and select a winner. Dr. Saro Atam displayed the highest clinical aptitude and the most well-rounded approach to orthodontics and life, hence, selected as the JCO Student of the Year 2020.


AAOF Research Aid Award
The American Association of Orthodontists Foundation (AAOF) be established an award program as a continued commitment to the orthodontic specialty. Dr. Saro Atam was successful in being awarded one of the seven Research Aid Awards, the Charles J. Burstone Research Aid Award. The AAOF has awarded over $13,800,000 to successful candidates since the first award in 1994. The Foundation Board has delegated to the Planning and Awards Review Committee (PARC) the responsibility of reviewing the various applications and recommending which are to be funded. It is a highly competitive process and only the best applications are funded.