The American Academy of Periodontology (AAP) recently awarded members for their contributions and accomplishments within the Academy and the specialty of periodontics. The awardees were honored at a ceremony during the AAP’s 103nd Annual Meeting, held Sept. 9-12 in Boston.
“Every year, the Academy recognizes members whose service and commitment have made an impact on our organization and on the specialty,” says Terrence J. Griffin, DMD, immediate past president of the AAP. “Their work sets a standard of excellence.”
Gold Medal Award: For more than 40 years of service and an enduring imprint on the Academy and periodontics, the AAP bestows the Gold Medal Award, its highest honor, on David Cochran, DDS, PhD. This devoted educator has held various academic appointments, most recently as the professor and chair of the Department of Periodontics at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, a position he’s held for 25 years. With more than 360 publications to his credit, Dr. Cochran has also had an illustrious career in research, which includes landmark reports on morphogenetic proteins and osseous regeneration. He adds to his Gold Medal decoration a 2013 Distinguished Scientist Award, 2007 William J. Gies Periodontology Award, two R. Earl Robinson Periodontal Regeneration Awards, and a 1999 Special Citation Award.
Master Clinician Award: Jack Caton, DDS, MS, is the 2017 recipient of the Master Clinician Award. This recognition, sponsored by Hu-Friedy, is presented to an Academy member who demonstrates clinical excellence in the specialty and shares his wisdom and experience with others. With extensive research that has been published in more than 110 scientific articles and book chapters, Dr. Caton has made an indelible impact on the scientific advancement of the specialty. His work also led to the development of the first biodegradable barrier membrane and of Periostat, the first dentistry drug approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. In addition to maintaining a private practice in Rochester, N.Y., he is a clinical dentistry professor, periodontics program director, and periodontics chair at the University of Rochester’s School of Medicine and Dentistry.
Distinguished Scientist and Outstanding Periodontal Educator Award: This year, the Academy is pleased to present two awards to one esteemed honoree: Hom-Lay Wang, DDS, MSD, PhD, is the 2017 recipient of the Outstanding Periodontal Educator Award (which is sponsored by Hu-Friedy) and the Distinguished Scientist Award. Dr. Wang, whose research interests include oral plastic surgery, regeneration, tissue engineering, and other implant-related topics, has published more than 130 scientific abstracts, 25 book chapters, and more than 500 scientific articles, generating over 25,000 citations to his work. He has also given more than 650 lectures around the world. Dr. Wang is the Endowed Collegiate Professor of Periodontology at the University of Michigan School of Dentistry, where he has served as the director of the graduate periodontal program for more than 20 years. As an educator, he has trained over 85 graduate students from all over the world, and many of them have gone on to attain fellowships, training grants from the National Institutes of Health, and research awards. Of the many qualities that make Dr. Wang an outstanding educator, his students consistently note his generosity, mentorship, and enthusiasm.
Distinguished Service Award: For decades of service to the AAP and the specialty, the Academy confers the 2017 Distinguished Service Award to John Kobs, DDS, MS. Dr. Kobs’ work with the AAP began in 1987 as the vice chairman of the New Practitioner Committee, continuing with participation on the Public and Professional Communications Committee, District IV Nomination Committee, Nominating Committee, and Finance Committee. He served two stints as the liaison to the Task Force on Dental Hygiene Education in 2000 and 2004, and in 2003, he became the chairman of the Task Force to Review the Annual Meeting. In 1998, he began the first of two three-year terms on the Board of Trustees, culminating in service on the Executive Committee in 2004. Most recently, Dr. Kobs acted as the chair of the Academy’s Executive Director Search Committee, which vetted and recommended Erin O’Donnell Dotzler as the AAP’s Executive Director last fall after a national search. A graduate of the University of Iowa College of Dentistry, Dr. Kobs has maintained a private practice in Holland, Mich., since 1977. The Distinguished Service Award is sponsored by Kittleman & Associates.
Honorary Membership: The AAP presents its Honorary Membership Award to a practitioner who does not qualify for active Academy membership, but has made notable contributions to the art and science of periodontology. This year’s recipient, Hiromasa Yoshie, DDS, PhD, is a recognized educator and researcher whose contributions on such topics as regeneration, tissue engineering, and systemic relationships have enhanced the canon of periodontal research. In addition to his extensive background in teaching and investigation, Dr. Yoshie has been an instrumental leader at the Japanese Society of Periodontology (JSP), helping to foster the group’s long-standing collaboration with the AAP. He has presented at a number of AAP Annual Meetings over the years, including the first AAP-JSP meeting in 2000 and most recently at the 2016 Annual Meeting in San Diego. Dr. Yoshie is currently a professor at Niigata University’s Institute of Medicine and Dentistry in Niigata, Japan.
Humanitarian Award: The 2017 AAP Humanitarian Award is awarded posthumously to Michael Perry, DMD, MS, an Oxford, Miss., periodontist who passed away on Aug. 14, 2016. He was a three-time participant of the Dominican Dental Mission Project, which has provided dental treatment to underserved patients in the Dominican Republic since 1983. Dr. Perry’s benevolence extended into the community when he invested millions into the 2013 construction of the Oxford-Lafayette Sportsplex, a 73-acre athletic complex complete with baseball, softball, football, and lacrosse fields. Dr. Perry, who earned his Master of Science in Periodontics at Baylor College of Dentistry after graduating from the University of Mississippi School of Dentistry, opened his first periodontics office in 2002. He and his late wife Kim are survived by their three children, Sarah, John West, and Anna Reed.
Special Citation Award: This award is presented to members for outstanding work on an Academy committee or special project. Among this year’s recipients is Allan Charles, DDS, a Pasadena, Calif., periodontist who has served on numerous AAP committees. His participation includes 16 years on the Academy’s Patient Benefits and Advocacy Committee (which he chaired from 2012 to 2016) and the Board of Trustees. In addition to his service to the AAP, Dr. Allan is a past president of the California Society of Periodontists and the Western Society of Periodontology. This year’s special citation honorees also include Academy Trustees David Okano, DDS, MS, Christopher Richardson, DMD, MS, and Secretary/Treasurer James Wilson, DMD, who comprised the AAP Task Force on General Assembly Voting. Together, the group implemented procedures that enable members to vote on Constitution and Bylaws amendments without having to be present at the General Assembly held during each AAP Annual Meeting.
William J. Gies Award: Gary Armitage, DDS, MS, is the 2017 recipient of the William J. Gies Periodontology Award. Presented by the American Dental Education Association’s William J. Gies Foundation for the Advancement of Dentistry, this award is conferred to those who have made outstanding contributions to the field of periodontology. Dr. Armitage, the R. Earl Robinson Distinguished Professor of Periodontology at the University of California San Francisco, is a distinguished researcher with more than 90 articles and book chapters to his credit. Much of his work has been instrumental to the diagnosis, classification, and treatment of periodontal diseases, and he currently serves on the Academy's organizing committee for the 2017 World Workshop on the Classification of Periodontal and Peri-implant diseases. He is a sought-after lecturer and well-respected educator who has held visiting professorships at the University of Otago School of Dentistry in New Zealand and at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio. Dr. Armitage is the 2000 recipient of the AAP Gold Medal Award.
Clinical Research Award: This award is presented to an outstanding recently published scientific article with direct clinical relevance to periodontics. The 2017 recipients of this award, authors of “A randomized, controlled, multicenter clinical trial of post-extraction alveolar ridge preservation,” published in the December 2016 issue of the Journal of Clinical Periodontology, are as follows: E. Todd Scheyer, DDS, MS; Rick Heard, III, DDS, MS; Jim Janakievski, DDS, MSD; George Mandelaris, DDS, MS; Marc Nevins, DMD, MMSc; Stephen Pickering, DDS; Christopher Richardson, DMD, MS; Bryan Pope, DMD, MSD; Gregory Toback, DMD, MS; Diego Velasquez, DDS; and Heiner Nagursky, PhD. The Clinical Research Award is sponsored by Quintessence Publishing.
R. Earl Robinson Periodontal Regeneration Award: This award recognizes an outstanding recent scientific article about periodontal regeneration in the basic and clinical sciences. For their article, “A Randomized Clinical Trial Evaluating rh-FGF-2/βTCP in Periodontal Defects,” published in the May 2016 issue of the Journal of Dental Research, the Academy recognizes the following members: David Cochran, DDS, PhD;Tae-Ju Oh, DDS, MS; Michael Mills, DMD; Donald Clem, III, DDS; Pamela McClain, DDS; Rachel Schallhorn, DDS, MS; Michael McGuire, DDS; E. Todd Scheyer, DDS, MS; William Giannobile, DDS, DMSc; Michael Reddy, DMD; Ramzi Abou-Arraj, DDS, MS; Philip Vassilopoulos, DMD, FACD; Robert Genco, DDS, PhD; Nico Geurs, DDS; and Akane Takemura, PhD. The R. Earl Robinson Periodontal Regeneration Award is sponsored by the AAP Foundation.
