Arlington, Va. – The American Chiropractic Association (ACA) presented its 2026 Annual Awards last week during its annual meeting in Washington, D.C. The awards recognize doctors of chiropractic and other individuals for exceptional service, achievement, and/or leadership within the chiropractic profession.
Ronald Farabaugh, DC, of Westerville, Ohio, received ACA’s highest honor, the Chiropractor of the Year Award, in recognition of his efforts to advance the profession through integration and research. Dr. Farabaugh is the author of numerous peer-reviewed papers on topics ranging from chiropractic clinical best practices to care management and reimbursement. In 2024, he published a much-anticipated systematic review examining the cost of chiropractic care versus medical care for spine-related musculoskeletal pain. As chair of ACA’s Research Advisory Board, he spearheaded efforts to review clinical guidelines from outside organizations to ensure the most current chiropractic research is accurately reflected in care recommendations.
Valerie Johnson, DC, of Los Angeles, Calif., received the Humanitarian of the Year Award. Dr. Johnson had a trailblazing 20-year career in the Veterans Administration (VA) health care system. In addition to providing exceptional, empathetic, and patient-centered care to veterans as lead chiropractor—and later supervisor of chiropractic services—at the VA’s Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, Dr. Johnson was a respected mentor to many chiropractors and set a standard of excellence that helped ensure the continued growth of chiropractic within the VA.
Brian Coleman, DC, MHS, of Old Saybrook, Conn., and Nathan Schilaty, DC, PhD, of Tampa, Fla., share this year’s George B. McClelland Researcher of the Year Award, which recognizes individuals for developing, refining, and/or expanding the body of knowledge in chiropractic.
- Dr. Coleman is a clinician-scientist and assistant professor at the Yale School of Medicine. His primary interest is the application of clinical informatics to the study of pain. Dr. Coleman’s research includes the first study to use machine learning on chiropractic data to predict service utilization.
- Dr. Schilaty is the Lincoln Endowed Chair of Biomechanics and Chiropractic Research and director of the Center for Neuromusculoskeletal Research at the University of South Florida. He specializes in the neuromechanics of human movement. His research has substantially advanced the science of nonsurgical spinal decompression.
Patrick Battaglia, DC, of Camas, Wash., received the Academician of the Year Award. He is associate vice president of clinical services and community-based clinical education at the University of Western States (UWS). As part of UWS’s collaboration with VA’s Puget Sound Healthcare System, Dr. Battaglia moderates virtual grand rounds that involve discussion of conditions and topics relevant to integrative health care.
Brad Russell, DC, of Birmingham, Ala., and Paul Dupuis, DC, of Jefferson City, Mo., received the Delegate and Alternate Delegate of the Year Awards, respectively. Both awards recognize members of the ACA House of Delegates who have demonstrated exceptional service, achievement, and/or leadership.
Caitlin Simpson, DC, of Lakeville, N.Y., who serves as ACA’s New York delegate, received the Flynn-Lynch Award, which recognizes an outstanding member with no more than five years of service in the House of Delegates.
About the American Chiropractic Association
The American Chiropractic Association (ACA) is the largest professional chiropractic organization in the United States. ACA attracts principled and accomplished chiropractors who understand that it takes more to be called an ACA chiropractor. ACA is leading the profession in constructive and far-reaching ways—by working hand in hand with other health care professionals, advocating for pro-chiropractic legislation and policies, supporting meaningful research, and using that research to inform treatment practices. ACA also provides professional and educational opportunities for its members and is committed to being a positive and unifying force for the practice of modern chiropractic. Visit acatoday.org.
