We support clinically relevant Research through a variety of funding opportunities
Research Grants
Our research priorities support orthotics and prosthetics research that drives better outcomes for patients, enhances the care experience, and contributes to more sustainable, value-driven healthcare.
We prioritize initiatives that strengthen the quality of patient care across key domains—safety, effectiveness, equity, timeliness, efficiency, and patient-centeredness—while fostering innovation that leads to measurable improvements in orthotic and prosthetic rehabilitation.
Research Funding Opportunities
Pilot Grant
The Pilot Grant supports investigators in launching innovative research projects that can serve as strong foundations for future, larger-scale funding from agencies such as the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI), and the Department of Defense (DOD).
This annual $30,000 award is granted based on the project’s scientific rigor, clinical relevance, and alignment with The O&P Foundation’s research priorities, with the goal of accelerating impactful work that advances the field of orthotics, prosthetics, and pedorthics.
OPENS March 2nd | LOI Due April 6th | Proposals Due May 4th 2026
Early Career Grant
The Early Career Grant empowers emerging investigators to launch lines of research that can grow into competitive proposals for major funding agencies such as the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI), and the Department of Defense (DOD).
Designed for researchers within ten years of completing their terminal degree, this annual $30,000 award supports projects that demonstrate strong scientific merit, clear clinical relevance, and meaningful alignment with the O&P Foundation’s research priorities.
By investing in early career scientists, the O&P Foundation aims to accelerate discovery, strengthen the evidence base, and cultivate the next generation of leaders in orthotics, prosthetics, and pedorthics research.
OPENS March 2nd | LOI Due April 6th | Proposals Due May 4th 2026
AOPA Sponsored Research Grant
Prosthetic socket design and structural strength are fundamental to patient safety, comfort, mobility, and long-term clinical outcomes. Despite this central role, no industry-wide guidelines or standards exist for testing socket structural safety, including fatigue resistance, failure thresholds, or loading conditions. This lack of standardization has left clinicians, researchers, regulators, and manufacturers without established criteria or methods by which to assess the structural safety of sockets and patient outcomes.
In 2020, AOPA established the Socket Guidance Workgroup (SGW), a multidisciplinary, international team of experts dedicated to developing evidence-based best practices and standardized testing methods for prosthetic sockets. The SGW identified key gaps that limit progress toward validated and internationally recognized technical specifications for socket testing and standards. In support of this work, AOPA has sponsored this grant opportunity to advance research directly aligned with the SGW priority areas.
This grant program provides a one year grant up to $50,000 to advance the evidence base required to establish validated, industry-recognized socket testing standards. By closing critical evidence gaps, this initiative will directly inform future ISO-aligned testing protocols, improve safety and quality assurance, support manufacturers in socket design performance, and enhance clinical, regulatory, and payer confidence in prosthetic care.
OPENS March 2nd | LOI Due April 6th | Proposals Due May 4th 2026
Mentored Pilot Grants
The Mentored Pilot Grant provides one-year grants of $5,000 to support early career scientists and emerging investigators including master’s and doctoral students, O&P residents, and practicing clinicians, as they complete a focused research project under the guidance of an experienced research mentor.
Projects must demonstrate strong scientific merit, clear clinical relevance, and alignment with The O&P Foundation’s research priorities.
This program is designed to strengthen early research skills, foster meaningful mentorship, and generate preliminary data that can support future, larger-scale funding opportunities and development for the investigators.
Tamarack Orthotics Mentored Pilot Grant
Tamarack Habilitation Technologies, Inc. continues to give back to the OP&P profession and advancement of orthotics practice and education with their generous support of a targeted Orthotics Mentored Pilot Research Grant. This special 2026 program is available in both the Spring and Fall cycle and funds Orthotics focused research proposals.
OPENS March 2nd | LOI Due April 6th | Proposals Due May 4th 2026
Microgrants
This one-year, $2,000 grant program enables health care professionals, researchers, students, and residents to pursue high-impact quality improvement projects that seek to impact care delivery and patient outcomes.
Designed to spark new directions and accelerate early-stage work, microgrants support activities that directly impact orthotic, prosthetic, and/or pedorthic patient care.
Awards are offered twice per year, in the Spring and Fall, and are selected based on the clinical relevance, feasibility, and alignment with The O&P Foundation research priorities.
OPENS March 2nd | CLOSES April 6th 2026
Research Poster Awards
This new program recognizes an excellent research poster by an orthotics and prosthetics student or resident that demonstrates a strong research design, compelling presentation and potential for impact on orthotic, prosthetic, and/or pedorthic practice.
The initiative supports a $1,000 award and a matched mentor engagement opportunity and aims to highlight and empower emerging professionals, to encourage research dissemination, and strengthen the future of evidence-driven OP&P care.
OPENS Spring 2026
Program Details
Coming Soon…
Conference Dissemination Fund
The O&P Foundation maintains a conference dissemination fund available to support the sharing and communication of O&P Foundation-funded research activities and findings. Grant recipients who were awarded $5000 or more are eligible to request dissemination funds.
These funds are available for request during the three years following the active grant period and cover up to $2000 in expenses associated with dissemination activities such as conference travel and accommodations. Funds can be requested upon confirmation of conference abstract acceptance.
These funds may not be used for publication fees or other expenses not associated with presentation of research findings at a conference.
How it works
- Create an account in the O&P Foundation Application Portal, select the program application.
- Check program requirements
- Complete application when portal opens.
- Submit required attachments.
- If you have any questions, please contact info@oandpfoundation.org.
What are recipients saying? Impact Stories
“I am grateful for the Orthotic and Prosthetic Foundation for Education and Research and I am looking forward to attending and presenting my research at the 2025 Academy Annual Meeting. This opportunity to present on psycho-educational support groups for scoliosis patients will hopefully lead to more positive outcomes and experiences for scoliosis patients and their families.”
O&P Student
"I am deeply grateful and honored to be selected as the recipient of this award and for the generosity of ABC and the Orthotics and Prosthetics Foundation for Education and Research. Research plays a critical role in advancing the profession, and it is truly incredible to have professional organizations like these support students in showcasing their research at AAOP's Annual Meeting and Scientific Symposium."
PhD Student
"I am honored to receive this grant to support our understanding of lower limb prosthesis users' lived experiences with fatigue, and how that may impact their safety and mobility"
O&P Student
"I am incredibly honored to receive the lst Place Student Poster Prize. This topic has been a passion of mine even before joining the ASU program, and I am grateful to my advisors and program director for their support and encouragement as I conducted this research as the sole investigator. This achievement reaffirms that hard work and dedication truly pay off."
O&P Resident
“I am deeply honored to be selected as a recipient of the O&P Foundation Microgrant in support of my resident research project at Gillette Children’s. This grant will enable us to explore the efficacy of integrating digital technology into orthotic fabrication workflows, aiming to improve patient satisfaction outcomes and enhance the efficiency of care. The support from the O&P Foundation is invaluable as we take this next step in our research journey. I am sincerely grateful for this partnership and the opportunity to make a meaningful impact on our study participants, patients, and the field as a whole”
Program Director/Assistant Professor - East Tennessee State University
“Receiving the OPERF Fellowship Award had a profound impact on my career trajectory by providing the essential support to complete my MS degree, pursue a PhD, and establish myself as a scientist. Today, as an Assistant Professor and Program Director of the Master of Science in Orthotics and Prosthetics (MSOP) program at East Tennessee State University, I am uniquely positioned to mentor and inspire the next generation of O&P professionals. I strive to instill in my students the research skills, critical thinking, and passion for discovery that the Fellowship helped me develop."
Research Prosthetist-Orthotist
“Receiving research funding early in my career has provided me with valuable experience in drafting impactful grant proposals, a skill I will continue to utilize throughout my career as a researcher. Additionally, these awards have given me the confidence to pursue my research interests, with the support and recognition of the O&P community that these objectives will be valuable in shaping the future of O&P care for our patients."
Hanger - Chief Clinical Officer
“The fellowship award was a springboard for my career. It was the first substantive award I was able to demonstrate on my CV that I could effectively manage an award and yield a deliverable from that money entrusted to me. As a result, I have now been a PI on multiple grants for which total funding exceeds $30M."
Kelly Moton MS
O&P Resident