SAN FRANCISCO – September 23, 2014 – The American Academy of Periodontology (AAP) issued ten special recognitions to members for their contributions to the periodontal specialty. The awardees were honored at a ceremony held during the AAP’s 100th Anniversary Annual Meeting, held Sept. 19-22 in San Francisco.
“The Academy is pleased to honor those who have made notable strides in the clinical and scientific advancement of periodontics,” said Stuart J. Froum, DDS, the AAP’s immediate past president. “The work of these individuals lights the way as our specialty continues to evolve. We are thankful to them for their contributions and their unwavering commitment.”
Gold Medal Award: First conferred in 1967, the Gold Medal is the highest honor of the Academy. It is presented each year to a periodontist who has made outstanding contributions to the specialty. William Becker, DDS, a member of the AAP since 1966, is recognized as the 2014 AAP Gold Medal Award Recipient. Dr. Becker has been a clinical professor in the University of Southern California’s Department of Periodontology since 1969, also having held professorships at the University of Washington, the University of Texas at Houston, and the University of Arizona. In his nearly 50 years of AAP membership, Dr. Becker has served on more than a dozen committees and presided as the Academy’s president from 1989 to 1990. A diplomate of the American Board of Periodontology since 1969, he is also a recipient of the Presidential Award, Master Clinician Award, and two Clinical Research Awards. A widely-published researcher, Dr. Becker is also on the Journal of Periodontology’s editorial board. Dr. Becker, who currently runs a private practice in Tucson, Az., is a graduate of the Marquette University School of Dentistry with a certificate in periodontics from the Baylor College of Dentistry.
Master Clinician Award: Barry D. Wagenberg, DMD, is the recipient of the Master Clinician Award, which is bestowed annually to a member who has demonstrated consistent clinical excellence in periodontology. Dr. Wagenberg’s research areas have included periodontal diagnosis and treatment planning; interdisciplinary treatment; restrictive and regenerative periodontal surgery; and implant dentistry. A sought-after speaker, Dr. Wagenberg has presented more than 100 lectures around the world, and he has penned more than 30 scientific articles and textbook chapters. His work has been central to the creation of patient care-oriented guidelines for surgical procedures. His involvement with the AAP includes six years on its board of trustees and as the chair of the section on gingival augmentation and mucogingival treatment at the Academy’s landmark World Workshop of Periodontics in 1989. In addition to overseeing a private practice in New Jersey, Dr. Wagenberg is an associate professor of periodontics and implant dentistry at the New York University School of Dentistry and Beth Israel Hospital’s director of dental education and director of its department of periodontology. He is a diplomate of the American Board of Periodontology.
Distinguished Service Award: For her service to the Academy in a number of areas for more than 20 years, the Academy recognizes Pamela K. McClain, DDS, of Colorado. In addition to presiding as the AAP’s president from 2011 to 2012, Dr. McClain served on its board of trustees from 2000 to 2006. She has also chaired such committees as Annual Meeting, Continuing Education Oversight, Planning, and Finance. In June 2014, she co-chaired the Academy’s Workshop on Regeneration, a topic for which she is a three-time recipient of the prestigious R. Earl Robinson Periodontal Regeneration Award. Along with presenting a number of lectures and publishing in professional journals and books, Dr. McClain is a peer reviewer for such publications as theJournal of Periodontology, Journal of the American Medical Association, and the International Journal of Periodontics and Restorative Dentistry. In addition to maintaining a full-time private practice, Dr. McClain is an associate clinical professor in the Department of Surgical Dentistry at the University of Colorado School of Dentistry, where she earned her dental degree.
Distinguished Scientist Award: With a DDS and PhD in Biochemistry from the Virginia Commonwealth University and a certificate in periodontology from the Harvard School of Dental Medicine, Steven Offenbacher, DDS, PhD, is a 38-year veteran of the periodontal specialty. He currently serves as the director of the Center of Oral and Systemic Diseases and is the chair of the University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill’s Department of Periodontology. With nearly 300 published articles to his credit, Dr. Offenbacher is a deserving recipient of this honor, which is bestowed annually to an AAP member who actively contributes to the basic and clinical science of periodontology through published literature, pre- or post-doctoral education, or scientific conferences and symposia. His research foci include epidemiological studies on the role of periodontal infection on other conditions. He is a recipient of four AAP Clinical Research Awards; the Norton Ross Award for Clinical Research; the Gies Award; and the Basic Research in Periodontal Disease Award from the International Association for Dental Research. Dr. Offenbacher also received the 2008 AAP Educator Award for Outstanding Teaching and Mentoring in Periodontology for his work with students at Harvard University, UNC, Emory University, and the Medical College of Virginia.
Outstanding Periodontal Educator Award: The AAP recognizes Kent G. Palcanis, DDS, MSD, for his work as an exemplary educator who demonstrates excellence in teaching. After earning his periodontal certificate from the University of Washington in 1973, Dr. Palcanis began his tenure as the assistant professor of periodontics at what is now Virginia Commonwealth University. He later began a teaching career at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). The number of roles he’s held over the course of his career include lecturer, department director, department chair, and associate dean for academic affairs. In addition to participation on the AAP’s Board of Trustees, Dr. Palcanis has served on more than 20 AAP committees and task forces. He is the recipient of nearly 25 awards from the American Academy of Oral Medicine, the American Dental Association, UAB, and the AAP.
Humanitarian Award: Recipients of this award use their clinical skills to treat the periodontal ailments of those in underserved populations. This year’s recipient, Craig J. Hovick, DDS, a Colorado periodontist, has spearheaded dental missions for those without access to dental care services in such locales as Costa Rica, Bolivia, Nicaragua, Cambodia, Liberia, Uganda, and Cameroon. During these missions, he offers his services regardless of an individual’s ability to pay. In his own private practice, Dr. Hovick donates dental exams and other services to the less fortunate in his community. In addition to his 27-year membership with the AAP, Dr. Hovick is a former president of the Rocky Mountain Society of Periodontists and the Boulder County Dental Society. He is a dental graduate of the University of Iowa, later earning his certificate in periodontology from the University of Nebraska.
Honorary Membership: For his decorated career in periodontal research, education, and administration, the AAP welcomes Peter Mark Bartold, DDSc, PhD, as an honorary member. The University of Adelaide graduate currently teaches at his alma mater, where he acts as the director of the Colgate Australian Clinical Dental Research Centre. He is a member of the order of Australia; the chairman of the board of the Australian Periodontology Research Foundation; and past president of such organizations as the Asian Pacific Society of Periodontology and the Royal Australian College of Dental Surgeons’ Division of Periodontics among others. A prolific researcher, Dr. Bartold has published more than 200 articles, has co-edited seven textbooks, and holds four patents. Additionally, he has served on more than 20 scientific editorial boards. Over the course of his career, he has presented nearly 200 lectures in 27 countries around the world.
William J. Gies Award: Presented by the William J. Gies Foundation for the Advancement of Dentistry (part of the American Dental Education Association), this award is presented to an AAP member who has made an indelible impact on periodontal literature and the advancement of dental education. Michigan periodontist and University of Michigan (UM) professor William V. Giannobile, DDS, MSc, is the 2014 recipient of this award. A well-published researcher, his contributions to study and practice have advanced the application of growth factors and stem cells in oral and periodontal reconstruction. Additional research foci include salivary diagnostics. Dr. Giannobile’s collaborative clinical research led to the approval of the first-in-class synthetic bone graft incorporating platelet-derived growth factor for periodontal regeneration. A member of the AAP since 1991, Dr. Giannobile has served as a participant in a number of international consensus workshops, including the Academy’s landmark Workshop on Regeneration, which he co-chaired in June 2014. A DDS and MSc graduate of the University of Missouri, he earned his certificate in periodontology from Harvard University. In addition to his work at UM and his private practice, he is the Najjar Endowed Professor of Dentistry and Biomedical Engineering and the director of the Michigan Center for Oral Health Research at the University of Michigan School of Dentistry.
Special Citation Award: The AAP Task Force to Update the Glossary of Periodontal Terms was charged with enhancing the AAP’s glossary and creating an interactive format for it online. The group refreshed the 2001 edition to reflect the current state of the specialty’s science and practice, updating and amending approximately 1,500 terms with the help of several postdoctoral periodontal programs. For their work on this task force, the recipients of the 2014 Special Citation Award are as follows: Sharon R. Bannister, DDS, MS; James Barnes, DDS; Frederick Bisch, DMD, MS; Casey Campbell, DDS, MS; Douglas R. Dixon, DMD, PhD; Robert Faiella, DMD, MMSc; Margaret Hill, DMD; Cristina Cunha Villar, DDS, PhD; and S. Jerome Zackin, DMD.
Clinical Research Award: This award is presented to an outstanding recently published scientific article with direct clinical relevance in periodontics. The 2014 recipients of this award, authors of “Patient Stratification for Preventative Care in Dentistry,” which was published in the Journal of Dental Research, are as follows: William V. Giannobile, DDS, MSc; Thomas M. Braun, PhD; Lynn Doucette-Stamm, PhD; Gordon Duff, PhD; and Kenneth S. Kornman, DDS, PhD.
R. Earl Robinson Periodontal Regeneration Award: This award, sponsored by the AAP Foundation, recognizes an outstanding recent scientific article about periodontal regeneration in the basic and clinical sciences. Authors of “Platelet-derived Growth Factor Promotes Periodontal Regeneration in Localized Osseous Defects: 36-84 month Extension Results from Randomized Controlled, Double-masked Clinical Trial,” which was published in the Journal of Periodontology, are as follows: Myron Nevins, DDS; Marc Nevins, DMD, MMSc; Robert J. Genco, DDS, PhD; William V. Giannobile, DDS, MSc; James E. Hinrichs, DDS, MS; Richard T. Kao, DDS; Samuel E. Lynch, DMD, DMSc; Bradley S. McAllister, DDS, PhD; Pamela K. McClain, DDS; Michael K. McGuire, DDS; and Michael S. Reddy, DMD.
