Mr Oliver Schindler has been awarded the Insall Travelling Fellowship for 2007, sponsored by the American Knee Society. The prestigious award, which is granted annually, is designed to honor a surgeon’s outstanding achievements in the field of knee surgery. Mr Schindler will travel together with three North American fellows across the US and Canada visiting Knee Society locations and internationally recognized joint replacement and knee surgery centers. The fellowship will provide a platform to absorb new ideas, learn new surgical techniques and to combine research projects.

The fellowship was founded by John Insall who moved to New York after his had finished medical school in the UK. He later established the Insall-Scott-Kelly Institute. John Insall's legendary contributions to knee surgery were based on an academic pursuit of excellence in research and patient care. One of his major achievements was the development of the first anatomical knee replacement, which has provided life quality to thousands of patients since. His research endeavors encompassed biomechanics, surgical techniques and vigilant post-operative patient evaluations. Inherent in his life's work was the importance of educating knee surgeons throughout the world. In recognition of Dr. Insall's contribution to both the worldwide orthopaedic community and the Knee Society, The Insall Travelling Fellowship is designed to perpetuate his legacy. The annual group of four Fellows will include the most qualified candidates as determined by the selections committee. Ordinarily, the process will lean towards selecting two North Americans, one Trans-Atlantic and one Pan-Pacific candidate. The candidates must undertake a project(s) during the 4-week course of their travels and subsequently complete a synthesis of the data in a manuscript to present at selected international meetings and publish in appropriate journals. The scope of the project will be determined by the selection committee in cooperation with the Knee Society.