ROCKVILLE, MD—February 5, 2026—The American Association for Anatomy (AAA) is thrilled to announce the recipients of their 2026 Recognition Awards. Each awardee will be formally recognized at the Anatomy Connected 2026 Closing Awards Reception on April 20, in Albuquerque, NM.
The Recognition Awards include the three highest distinctions awarded by AAA: the Henry Gray Scientific Award, the A.J. Ladman Exemplary Service Award, and the Henry Gray Distinguished Educator Award. The winners of these awards, along with the others on this list, are gathered through a nomination process conducted by their peers and are scored and selected by committees and volunteers.
The AAA Awards Program provides hundreds of thousands of dollars in awards, research grants, and scholarships annually. One in 10 members receives an award, scholarship, or grant every year.
“The Henry Gray Scientific Achievement Award is a tremendous honor, especially coming from the American Association for Anatomy, which I have been so closely associated with for over 15 years. The award is also a reflection and recognition of the incredible mentors, past and present lab members, and collaborators that I have been so privileged and lucky to work with throughout my career.” - Paul Trainor, Ph.D., FAAA, Member since 2008 and Editor-in-Chief of Developmental Dynamics, one of AAA’s leading scientific journals
This year’s awards and individual recipients include:
A.J. Ladman Exemplary Service Award
- Valerie DeLeon, Ph.D., FAAA, is an Associate Professor of Anthropology at the University of Florida and has dedicated her academic career to studying the growth processes that shape head and neck anatomy in humans and other mammals.
Henry Gray Distinguished Educator Award
- Leslie Gartner, Ph.D., is a retired Professor of Anatomy in the Department of Biomedical Sciences at the University of Maryland School of Dentistry, where he was responsible for lecturing in Histology, Oral Histology, and Embryology, as well as teaching dissection in the laboratory component of Gross Anatomy.
Henry Gray Scientific Achievement Award
- David Ornitz, M.D., Ph.D., FAAA, is an Alumni Endowed Professor in the Department of Developmental Biology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.
Fellows
The rank of Fellow of the American Association for Anatomy (FAAA) honors distinguished members who have demonstrated excellence in their overall contributions to the anatomical sciences.
- Melissa Carroll, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor and the Neuroanatomy Discipline Lead in the Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology at the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences.
- Matthew Vickaryous, Ph.D., is a Professor in the Department of Biomedical Sciences at the University of Guelph, Canada.
- Sue Herring, Ph.D., is a Professor Emeritus at the University of Washington where she specializes in functional morphology; her research has focused on craniofacial biomechanics and the factors that influence skull growth.
- Timothy Wilson, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor in the Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology and the Faculty of Dentistry at Western University (University of Western Ontario).
Basmajian Award
- Kristina Lisk, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor, Teaching Stream, in the Division of Anatomy, Department of Surgery at the University of Toronto, and a Scholar at the Wilson Centre at the University Health Network/University of Toronto.
Outstanding Mentor Award
- Lisa M.J. Lee, Ph.D., is a Professor and Course and Content Director in the undergraduate medical curriculum and the Modern Human Anatomy graduate program at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus.
Early-Career Investigator Awards
These awards are broken up into different categories based on area of research. Each recognizes investigators in the early stages of their careers who have made important contributions to biomedical science through their research.
C.J. Herrick Award in Neuroanatomy
- Jared M. Cregg, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor in the Departments of Neuroscience and Neurology at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where he leads a research program investigating the anatomical and functional organization of brainstem motor circuits.
H.W. Mossman Award in Developmental Biology
- Kristin Watt, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Craniofacial Biology at the University of Colorado Anschutz. Her lab uses zebrafish to model syndromes affecting craniofacial development and to identify molecular mechanisms regulating processes such as ribosome biogenesis during neural crest cell development.
R.R. Bensley Award in Cell Biology
- Martin Estermann, Ph.D., is a postdoctoral fellow at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS/NIH), where he investigates how genetics, epigenetics, and metabolism influence gonadal development and reproduction.
W.M. Cobb Award in Morphological Sciences
- Juan Liu, Ph.D., is an Assistant Adjunct Professor of Integrative Biology and Assistant Curator of the UC Museum of Paleontology at the University of California, Berkeley. She specializes in deep-time evolution of vertebrates, with a particular focus on functional anatomy and systematic paleontology of fish.
Early-Career Anatomist Publication Awards
Recognizes the best publication by an early-career anatomist in each of the society's three journals: The Anatomical Record, Anatomical Sciences Education, and Developmental Dynamics.
The Anatomical Record
- Courtney Miller, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor of Anatomy at the Idaho College of Osteopathic Medicine. Her research focuses on craniofacial morphology during early life and how functional transitions, such as the shift from suckling to chewing, influence craniofacial growth in typical development as well as in conditions like Osteogenesis Imperfecta (OI), Down syndrome, and autism.
Anatomical Sciences Education
- Andrew S. Cale, Ph.D., is an assistant professor in the Department of Anatomy, Cell Biology, & Physiology at Indiana University School of Medicine. His research interests include metacognition, educator development, and technology-enhanced learning.
Developmental Dynamics
- Casey Griffin, Ph.D., is an Associate Research Scientist at New York University College of Dentistry. She studies the role of splicing factors in neural crest cell development using a combination of Xenopus animal models and human stem cells.
Science Communication and Public Engagement Award
- Joy S. Reidenberg, Ph.D., FAAA, is a comparative anatomist specializing in cetacean anatomy and a Professor in the Center for Anatomy and Functional Morphology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, NY.
Additional biographical information on each award recipient can be found on the AAA website.
ABOUT AAA
The American Association for Anatomy is an international membership organization of biomedical researchers and educators specializing in the structural foundation of health and disease. AAA connects gross anatomists, neuroscientists, developmental biologists, physical anthropologists, cell biologists, physical therapists, and others to advance the anatomical sciences through research, education, and professional development. To join, visit anatomy.org.