AAES Awards & Recognitions

Oliver Cope Meritorious Achievement Award

In April of 1984 at the American Association of Endocrine Surgeons meeting in Kansas City, Drs. Edwin Kaplan, Jack Monchik, Leonard Rosoff, Norm Thompson, and Stuart Wilson proposed to the Council a new achievement award. This award is to be given to a member of the AAES in recognition for contributions in the field of endocrine surgery as an investigator, teacher, and clinical surgeon. It is not an annual award but is to be given to members of our Association who have achieved the high standards for which the award was established.

Cope Oliver Cope, MD
Professor of Surgery, Harvard University and the Massachusetts General Hospital
Awarded in Toronto in April 1985
Friesen Stanley R. Friesen, MD, PhD
Professor of Surgery, University of Kansas
Awarded in Detroit, MI. in April 1994
Dr. Friesen served as the President in 1983
Thompson Norman W. Thompson, MD
Henry King Ransom Professor of Surgery, University of Michigan
Awarded in Atlanta, GA in April 2001
Dr. Thompson served as the inaugural President in 1980 and 1981
van Heerden Jon A. van Heerden MD
Professor of Surgery Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN
Awarded in Charlottesville NC in April 2004
Dr. van Heerden served as Recorder from 1987-89, as Vice-President in 1994, and as President in 1996
Clark Orlo H. Clark MD
Professor of Surgery, UCSF Mount Zion Medical Center
Awarded in New York, New York in May 2006
Dr. Clark served as the Inaugural Vice President in 1980 and 1981, and as President in 1993
Kaplan Edwin L. Kaplan
Professor of Surgery, University of Chicago
Awarded in Madison, WI in May 2009
Dr. Kaplan served as President in 1982-83
Irvin George L. Irvin, III MD
University of Miami 
Awarded in Pittsburgh, PA in April 2010
Dr. Irvin served as Recorder from 1993-1996, Vice President in 1996-1997 and President in 1998-1999
Stuart D. Wilson, MD

Stuart D. Wilson, MD
Medical College of Wisconsin
Awarded in Baltimore, MD in April 2016
Dr. Wilson served as Secretary-Treasurer from 1984-1988 and President from 1991-1992

Stuart D. Wilson, MD Quan-Yang Duh, MD
University of California San Francisco
Awarded in Los Angeles, CA in April 2019
Dr. Duh served as Recorder from 1996-1999 and President from 2002-2003

Janice Pasieka, MD
University of Calgary
Awarded virtually in April 2021
Dr. Pasieka served as Secretary-Treasurer from 2003-2006 and President from 2009-2010

Ashok Shaha, MD
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Awarded in April 2023
Dr. Shaha served as Vice President from 2003-2004 and President from 2011-2012

 


 

Distinguished Service Award

This award recognizes individuals who maintain Active or Senior membership types. The nominee should have had a notable career in Endocrine Surgery with significant contributions ‘dedicated to advancing the science and art of endocrine surgery,’ and evidence of dedicated service to the AAES, including a strong history of prior active engagement with the organization.

2026
Douglas Evans, MD
Medical College of Wisconsin

 


Award of Distinction

This award recognizes individuals who maintain Active or Senior membership types. The nominee should have had a notable career in Endocrine Surgery or a related field (Endocrinology, Pathology, Research, etc.) with significant contributions to the advancement of the science and art of endocrine surgery and the field of endocrine disorders. The nominee should also have evidence of dedicated service to the AAES, including a strong history of prior engagement.

2026
Thomas J. Giordano, MD, PhD
University of Michigan