In 2024, AOJ reviewers continue to make outstanding contributions to the peer review process. They demonstrated professional effort and enthusiasm in their reviews and provided comments that genuinely help the authors to enhance their work.
Hereby, we would like to highlight some of our outstanding reviewers, with a brief interview of their thoughts and insights as a reviewer. Allow us to express our heartfelt gratitude for their tremendous effort and valuable contributions to the scientific process.
August, 2024
Robert LaPrade, Twin Cities Orthopedics, USA
August, 2024
Robert LaPrade
Robert F. LaPrade, MD, PhD, is a complex orthopaedic knee and sports medicine surgeon who practices at Twin Cities Orthopedics in Edina and Eagan, Minnesota. He is known as a specialized clinician scientist who has utilized his comprehensive research on sports medicine injuries to improve patient care and invent novel ways to treat knee problems. He has special expertise in treating posterolateral knee injuries, PCL tears, revision ACL reconstructions, meniscal repairs and transplants, MCL injuries, multiple ligament knee injuries, knee osteotomies, fresh osteoarticular allografts, and other difficult complex and revision injuries. Dr. LaPrade has published more than 700 peer-reviewed scientific manuscripts, 125 book chapters, has over 47,500 citations and has given over 1000 professional presentations, symposia, and instructional course lectures. He and his team have won many awards, including the Trillat Young Investigator Award from ISAKOS (twice), Excellence in Research Award from the AOSSM (3 times), Achilles Award from ISAKOS (twice), Cabaud Award from the AOSSM (twice), and an OREF Kappa Delta Award, which was considered as a "Nobel Prize of Orthopedics". In addition, Dr. LaPrade is recognized internationally as an outstanding mentor and teacher, having been awarded several teaching awards, including six annual teaching awards given by fellows and residents, and has mentored international fellows from all continents. Learn more about him here.
Dr. LaPrade indicates that peer review is essential to ensure that the literature is optimized, and that published literature is both unbiased as possible and scientifically sound.
In Dr. LaPrade’s opinion, the optimal means to ensure that one’s potential biases are not present in reviewing a work is to ensure that the work being reviewed remains blinded and also that one’s review is blinded. That ensures an honest and thoughtful assessment of a submitted work without feeling that one is in competition with the work from another specific group or that one is afraid to be thoughtful and honest about the evaluation of another’s work because they would know who reviewed their work.
“It is a privilege to be able to work as a clinician scientist. As part of this privilege, one needs to ensure that they are giving back to our profession and providing timely peer review of another’s work is an essential part of this,” says Dr. LaPrade.
(by Lareina Lim, Brad Li)
