“The Academy is proud to recognize those who have made an indelible impact on the practice and study of periodontics,” said Dr. Joan Otomo-Corgel, the Academy’s immediate past president. “It is because of these individuals’ unwavering commitment that our specialty continues to make notable strides into the future.”
ADDITIONAL READING | AAP honors award recipients, installs new officers
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 through service and an understanding of the study, diagnosis, and treatment of periodontal diseases. This year’s Gold Medal recipient is Dr. Vincent J. Iacono. Dr. Iacono is the distinguished service professor, Tarrson Family Professor of Periodontology, director of Postdoctoral Education, and chair of the Department of Periodontology at Stony Brook University’s School of Dental Medicine in Stony Brook, New York. A past president of the AAP, Dr. Iacono has also served as the periodontics commissioner for the Commission on Dental Accreditation; on the editorial board of the Journal of Periodontology; as vice president of the AAP Foundation; director of the American Board of Periodontology; and past president of the Northeastern Society of Periodontists, the Academy of Osseointegration, and the International Academy of Periodontology. He received the AAP’s presidential award in 2006 and has been awarded many other citations and honors throughout his career. He is the author of more than 100 journal articles, 95 abstracts, and five book chapters, with research interests that include implants, biomimetics, tissue engineering, and periodontal medicine.
Master Clinician Award: Dr. Paul S. Rosen is the recipient of the Master Clinician Award, which is bestowed annually to a member who has demonstrated consistent clinical excellence in periodontology and who continually expresses a willingness to share that clinical experience with others. A private practitioner and clinical professor of periodontics at the University of Maryland Dental School, Dr. Rosen is a sought-after international lecturer, who shares his prescription for success in regeneration and treatment planning. He chaired the task force that authored the white paper “Peri-implant Mucositis and Peri-implantitis: A Current Understanding of Their Diagnoses and Clinical Implications,” published in the Journal of Periodontology in 2013. He has authored or co-authored more than 50 articles and five textbook chapters. He has served as chair and longtime consultant for the AAP’s Continuing Education and Oversight Committee and is a founding editorial board member of the AAP’s digital journal Clinical Advances in Periodontics. Dr. Rosen also serves on the editorial boards of several dental journals, including the Journal of Periodontology, the International Journal of Periodontics and Restorative Dentistry, and the Compendium of Continuing Education in Dentistry. He was among the first group of examiners appointed to the American Board of Periodontology, a position he still holds. He maintains a private practice in Yardley, PA. The Master Clinician Award is sponsored by Hu-Friedy.
ADDITIONAL READING |Practical applications for periodontal regenerative therapies
Distinguished Scientist Award: For her significant contributions to the basic and clinical science of periodontology, the AAP recognizes Dr. Laurie K. McCauley with the Distinguished Scientist Award.
Dr. McCauley is the dean and the William K. and Mary Anne Najjar Professor at the University of Michigan’s School of Dentistry. She is also a professor in the University of Michigan Medical School’s Department of Pathology. Dr. McCauley’s research has focused on the mechanisms of regulating bone metabolism associated with osteoporosis, osteonecrosis, periodontal diseases, and metastatic cancers. She is well respected for her ability to recognize the significance of a basic science discovery toward informing clinical practice. The Distinguished Scientist Award is sponsored by OraPharma.
Special Citation Award: For his service as the parliamentarian of the AAP Board of Trustees,
Dr. Charles Cobb is the recipient of the Special Citation award, which is presented to a member who has made a noteworthy impact on an Academy committee or project. As a 40-year veteran practitioner and educator, Dr. Cobb is a respected colleague and researcher in the periodontal community. He is the professor emeritus at the University of Missouri-Kansas City’s Department of Periodontics and author of nearly 200 published works. Affectionately known as “The Encyclopedia” by students, Dr. Cobb has long respected by mentees and colleagues alike. In addition to his service to the AAP, Dr. Cobb is also a member of the Midwest Society of Periodontology, the Missouri Dental Association, and the American Dental Education Association. He is a retired founding member of the American Association of Oral Biologists.
Outstanding Periodontal Educator Award: For his exemplary work as a periodontal educator whose career inspires students and demonstrates excellence, the AAP recognizes Dr. Michael P. Mills as the recipient of this year’s Outstanding Periodontal Educator Award. Dr. Mills, a distinguished Air Force veteran, is a clinical associate professor at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio, where he also maintains a provide practice in periodontics and dental implants. In addition to his roles as a former director and chair of the American Board of Periodontology (where he continues to serve as an examiner), Dr. Mills has authored or co-authored 30 scientific articles, abstracts, and textbook chapters. He is a member of the Texas Dental Association, Southwest Society of Periodontists, and the San Antonio District Dental Society. The Outstanding Periodontal Educator Award is sponsored by Hu-Friedy.
Honorary Membership Award: Professor and chair of the Department of Periodontology at the Justus-Liebig University in Giessen, Germany, Dr. Joerg Meyle is the 2015 recipient of the AAP Honorary Membership Award. He is the treasurer of the European Federation of Periodontology (EFP), which comprises 29 national societies of periodontology. He is a two-term past president of the German Society of Periodontology and has served on the editorial boards of the Journal of Periodontology, Journal of Periodontal Research, and Journal of Clinical Periodontology. He has been a contributor to five joint consensus papers from the EFP and AAP, having co-authored a 2008 consensus report on peri-implant diseases that has been cited more than 450 times.
William J. Gies Award: Dr. Michael K. McGuire, who maintains a full-time private practice in Houston, is the 2015 recipient of the William J. Gies Award. Presented by the American Dental Education Association’s William J. Gies Foundation for the Advancement of Dentistry, this award is bestowed to those who have made outstanding contributions to the field of periodontology. Dr. McGuire is the author of more than 50 scientific articles and textbook chapters, and he serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of Periodontology and the International Journal of Periodontics and Restorative Dentistry. His research is a two-time recipient of both the AAP’s Robinson Regeneration and the Clinical Research Award. Dr. McGuire is a sought-after speaker with more than 200 lectures to his credit. He is also the 2007 recipient of the AAP’s Master Clinician Award and in 2009, the Academy’s Gold Medal Award. Dr McGuire is the founder and chairman of the McGuire Institute, a not-for-profit practice-based clinical research network.
Clinical Research Award: This award is presented to an outstanding recently-published scientific article with direct clinical relevance in periodontics. The 2015 recipients of this award, authors of “An Evidence-Based Scoring Index to Determine the Periodontal Prognosis on Molars,” which was published in the February 2014 Journal of Periodontology, are as follows: Drs. Preston D. Miller, Jr., Mark L. McEntire, Nicole M. Marlow, and Robert G. Gellin. 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. Authors of “Intrabony Defects, Open-Flap Debridement, and Decortication: A Randomized Clinical Trial,” which was published in the Journal of Periodontology in January 2014, are as follows: Drs. Alessandro Crea, Giorgio Deli, Cristiano Littarru, Carlo Lajolo, Gianluca Vittorini Orgeas, and Dimitris N. Tatakis. The R. Earl Robinson Periodontal Regeneration Award is sponsored by the AAP Foundation.
About the American Academy of Periodontology
The American Academy of Periodontology (AAP) represents over 8,000 periodontists—specialists in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of inflammatory diseases affecting the gums and supporting structures of the teeth, and in the placement of dental implants. Periodontics is one of the nine dental specialties recognized by the American Dental Association.