Awards

WHO-ESCEO Innovation Prize

The WHO-ESCEO Innovation Prize recognizes and promotes innovative technologies and research that contribute to the prevention, management, and treatment of osteoporosis, fragility fractures, and osteoarthritis. Selected applicants will have 7 minutes to present their work during the WHO-ESCEO Bone and Joint Innovative Session, taking place on 8 April 2027 in Vienna.

Three prestigious awards will be presented:

WHO-ESCEO Innovation Prize for Osteoarthritis Research
WHO-ESCEO Innovation Prize for Academic Research in Osteoporosis
WHO-ESCEO Innovation Prize for Corporate Research in Osteoporosis

Together, these three prizes aim to highlight scalable and impactful solutions, spanning both academic and corporate innovation, that improve musculoskeletal health outcomes globally.

In addition to these awards, applications demonstrating a high level of scientific excellence will receive a WHO Collaborating Centre–ESCEO Certificate of Excellence, recognising outstanding innovation even if not selected for one of the Innovation Prizes.

Application process

Submission categories
1. Osteoarthritis Research
2. Academic Research in Osteoporosis
3. Corporate Research in Osteoporosis
Eligibility

For the Bone Component, participation will be open and limited to corporate members of PRECCO as well as academic researchers.

For the Joint Component, this inaugural edition will be open exclusively to corporate partners.
- Innovations should be at least in the prototype or early implementation stage with demonstrated feasibility.
- Preference will be given to solutions that address equity, accessibility, and usability among older adults.
- For osteoarthritis, a preliminary selection of the applicants will be made by the ESCEO Scientific Advisory Board in collaboration with WHO Executives, two months prior to the Congress.

Submission process and timeline

Activity	Timeline (2026-27)	Details
Call for Submissions Opens	2 November 2026	Submission of proposal — 5 pages (max)
Deadline for Submissions	15 January 2027	All applications must be submitted by this time.
Initial Review by ESCEO / WHO	15 January – 15 February 2027	Review submissions for eligibility.
Public Pitching Session	8 April 2027	Applicants present innovations during WCO-IOF-ESCEO, before the Opening Ceremony.
Award Ceremony	8 April 2027	Winners announced at the Opening Ceremony of the WCO-IOF-ESCEO.

Judging process

Judging Panel
- Jotheeswaran Amuthavalli Thiyagarajan
  Department of Sexual, Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health and Ageing, WHO HQ
- Sameer Pujari
  Lead AI at WHO, Vice Chair AI 4 health WHO ITU expert group, Department of Digital Health & Innovation, WHO, HQ
- Rene Rizzoli
  Chair of WHO BOHEG (Bone Health Expert Working Group), Geneva, Switzerland
Judges' Responsibilities
- Review the submissions
- Shortlist the finalists
- Attend the public pitching session during WCO-IOF-ESCEO 2027
- Evaluate each innovation using a standardized scorecard provided in advance
- Submit rankings by April 2027
Evaluation Criteria
- Innovation and creativity – Novelty and originality of the concept.
- Impact and relevance – Potential to improve prevention or rehabilitation.
- Feasibility and scalability – Viability of implementation and potential for broader adoption.
- Equity and accessibility – Contribution to reducing disparities, including for low-resource settings.
- User-centric design – Usability, engagement, and responsiveness to older adults’ needs.
- Evidence of effectiveness – Data or pilot results demonstrating measurable impacts.
Contact information

For any questions regarding the submission process or eligibility, please contact Professor René Rizzoli.
How to submit

Please send your application to Mr. Martin Scheffer at scheffer@humacom.com.

Upon submission, applicants will receive an acknowledgement of receipt by email. If no acknowledgement is received within 48 hours, applicants are kindly requested to contact the Congress Secretariat to ensure that their application has been successfully received.

2027 ESCEO-Aging Clinical and Experimental Research award

The WCO-IOF-ESCEO Congress Committee has the great pleasure to announce that the 2027 ESCEO-Aging Clinical and Experimental Research Award, of a value of 2.000 Euros will be presented, once again, during the WCO in Vienna.

Requirements:

To be a co-author of an article published or accepted for publication in ACER between March 1st, 2026 and March 1st, 2027.
To be duly registered and physically attend the WCO 2027

Deadline:

Applications should be submitted before March 2nd, 2027

Application will be validated after verification of the Article published in ACER between March 1st, 2026 and March 1st, 2027

Applications will only be validated after the reception of a confirmation email from the Congress secretariat (no exception will be granted).

We thank you very much for your active participation and we look forward to another successful Congress.

ESCEO-IOF Young Investigator Awards

The ESCEO-IOF Young Investigator Awards are given to young investigators for their contributions in the field of bone and mineral research.

Twenty awards of 1000€ each will be distributed during the WCO-IOF-ESCEO Annual Meeting.

Requirements:

To be born after January 1, 1987
To be co-author of at least two abstracts submitted to the WCO-IOF-ESCEO 2027 Congress
Recipients must be duly registered to the Congress and attend the congress
Recipients must have their badge scanned on Saturday April 10, 2027 afternoon at the registration desk at the Congress Center

Deadline:

The application should be completed before January 27, 2027.
Abstracts can be submitted until January 27, 2027 on https://www.wco-iof-esceo.org/abstracts
Application will not be validated if a copy of the two (or more) submitted abstract and a copy of the passport/ID Card are not provided.
Applications will only be validated after the reception of a confirmation email from the Congress secretariat (no exception will be granted).
Recipients will be selected based on their abstracts by the ESCEO Scientific Advisory Board during the third week of February and notice will be provided no later than the first week of March, 2027.
Failure to have the badge scanned on Saturday April 10, 2027 afternoon at the registration desk at the Congress Center will result in the cancellation of the Scholarship (no exception will be granted).

We thank you very much for your active participation and we look forward to another successful Congress.

Recipients will be selected based on their abstracts by the ESCEO Scientific Advisory Board during the third week of February and notice will be provided no later than the first week of March, 2027.

Application will open on October 1, 2026

IOF President's Award

The International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF) President's Award honors IOF members from different regions of the world who have made a significant and unstinting contribution to the advancement of the work of the IOF, through furthering one or more of the mission statements and/or goals of the Foundation. Recipients are selected by the IOF President, with the approval of the IOF Executive Committee.

IOF CSA MEDAL OF ACHIEVEMENT

The international Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF) CSA Medal of Achievement honours individual researchers who have significantly advanced the field of osteoporosis through their original and outstanding scientific contributions. The award underlines important aspects of IOF’s mission – to increase understanding and awareness of osteoporosis and to promote medical innovation. The IOF CSA Medal of Achievement is presented every year during the WCO-IOF-ESCEO congress. Candidates will be nominated by members of the IOF Committee of Scientific Advisors (CSA), and the winner will be selected by the CSA Chair and Vice-Chair with approval of the IOF Executive Committee.

IOF Olof Johnell Science Award

The International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF) Olof Johnell Science Award, named in honor of the late Professor Olof Johnell is awarded every year during the WCO-IOF-ESCEO congress. The Award honors an individual who has contributed to the field of osteoporosis in a scientific or policy implementation area, worldwide. The candidates will be nominated by IOF members and the winner chosen by the IOF Board.

IOF Committee of National Societies Medal

The International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF) Committee of National Societies Medal honors an individual who has made an important contribution to IOFs Committee of National Societies (CNS) through active participation in CNS activities and by expanding IOF's message and outreach in his/her country. An IOF Committee selects the winner, with the approval of the IOF Executive Committee.

2027 ESCEO Medal of Excellence

The "ESCEO Medal of Excellence" is a prize intended to honor and reward an outstanding contribution to the field of bone, joint and muscle from an established researcher

ESCEO-IOF Pierre Meunier Young Scientist Award

The "ESCEO-IOF Pierre Meunier Young Scientist Award" is intended to reward the work of a young researcher, who has already demonstrated his/her scientific merits without having yet reached a prominent academic position. Numerous awards are dedicated to young promising scientists and other honor the "Masters and Mentors" for their overall work. Nevertheless, there is in between a gap, in the recognition of those who represent the next generation of leaders.

ESCEO-IOF Pierre Delmas Medal

The European Society for Clinical and Economic Aspects of Osteoporosis and Osteoarthritis (ESCEO) and the International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF) is proud to present the ESCEO-IOF Pierre Delmas Medal during the WCO-IOF-ESCEO Congress 2027 in Vienna,

Pierre Delmas, Professor of Medecine and Rheumatology at the University of Lyon, France, Director of the INSERM research unit « Pathophysiology of Osteoporosis », was an outstanding scientist who directed essential basic and clinical research in metabolic bone diseases, particulary in osteoporosis and osteoarthritis.

He was the Co-Founder and the First President of the IOF.

The Pierre Delmas Prize will be awarded to an individual for outstanding and major scientific contributions to the study of bone and mineral diseases, and consists of a medal.

The prize Committee will be composed of remarkable Scientists chosen within the IOF Committee of Scientific Advisors and ESCEO Scientific Advisory Board.