• Awards

AAP FOUNDATION EDUCATIONAL AWARDS

The AAP Foundation oversees a number of annual scholarships and fellowships in the field of periodontics.

Check here before applying: Award Criteria, Eligibility, and Restrictions

View our Award Recipient Check policy and indirect costs policy here.

Dr. Mark K. Setter Leadership in Periodontology and Dental Implantology Award

Application Deadline: June 1
In February 2019, periodontology lost one of its greats - Dr. Mark Setter. Dr. Setter was well-loved, and contributed to the field in many ways. He practiced for 30+ years, lectured, and mentored many dentists, periodontists, and students. To honor Dr. Setter's memory, Mrs. Susan Setter and Drs. Jason Souyias, Jason Stoner, Mitch Godat worked with the AAP Foundation to establish the Dr. Mark K. Setter Leadership in Periodontology and Dental Implantology Award. This annual $10,000 award will recognize a periodontal resident who exemplifies the leadership qualities that Dr. Setter lived and encouraged throughout his lifetime. Special thanks to BioHorizons, Salvin Denal Specialties, Inc., and the North American Society of Periodontists for their generous support of this award.

Recipient History

The 2023 Dr. Mark K. Setter Leadership in Periodontology and Dental Implantology award was given to Kathleen Chloe M. Mascardo, DMD, DMD, MMSc, Harvard University.

Charles W. Finley Visiting Scholar Education Grants

Application Deadline: April 1
The American Academy of Periodontology Foundation established Finley Visiting Scholar Education Grants to honor the memory of Dr. Charles W. Finley and all of the great periodontal leaders of the past, present, and future. Grants of $2,000 are awarded to accredited U.S. periodontal programs to offset honoraria, travel, promotion, and seminars by speakers in periodontology. The grants must be matched by funds from each department or institution. Though the speakers spend the majority of their time with the periodontics department students and faculty, the grant requires that the speaker present a formal program to the entire dental school on a subject of interest. One Finley award is generously sponsored by Glustitch, Inc.

Recipient History 2023 Finley Visiting Scholar Education Grants have been awarded to:

  • Rutgers University
  • University of Alabama at Birmingham
  • University of California, Los Angeles
  • University of California, San Francisco
  • University of Michigan
  • University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
  • University of Washington

AAP Foundation Fellowship to the Institute for Teaching & Learning in the Health Professions

Application Deadline: April 30
AAP Foundation Fellowships are available to the Academy for Academic Leadership (AAL) Institute for Teaching and Learning in the Health Professions. Each $3,500 Fellowship will cover the full tuition for the Institute's Program for Dental School Faculty.

Recipient History 2023 Fellowships to the Institute for Teaching and Learning in the Health Professions were awarded to:

  • Luciano Andrada, DDS, MMSc, Virginia Commonwealth University
  • Martinna Bertolini, DDS, MS, PhD, University of Pittsburgh
  • Lan-Lin Chiou, DDS, MSD, University of Connecticut
  • Vinayak M. Joshi, MS, PhD, Louisiana State University

Bud and Linda Tarrson Fellowship

Application Deadline: May 1
The recipient of the Bud and Linda Tarrson Fellowship receives a $30,000 award ($10,000 per year for up to three years). Candidates must be either a full-time faculty member at the instructor or assistant level or a part-time faculty member at a U.S. training institution and must be nominated by their periodontal program director.

Recipient History The 2023 Tarrson Fellowship has been awarded to Beatriz Bezerra, DDS, PhD, University of California, Los Angeles.

Dr. and Mrs. Gerald M. Kramer Scholar Award for Excellence

Application Deadline: May 15

The recipient of the Kramer Scholar Award for Excellence receives $10,000. Applicants for the Kramer Award must be third-year full-time periodontal students as of the application deadline at accredited U.S. periodontal programs and nominated by their periodontal program director.

Recipient History The 2023 Kramer Scholar is Julia Lacy, DMD, MS, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio.

Dr. D. Walter Cohen Teaching Award

Application Deadline: June 1
The $10,000 Cohen Award, sponsored in part by Carestream Dental, is intended to assist third-year periodontal residents in launching their careers as educators. The award is not to be used to replace support that would have normally been provided by the recipient's institution. Award candidates must intend to pursue a career in full-time periodontal teaching and research in the United States.

Recipient History The 2023 Cohen Teaching Award recipient is David T. Wu, DMD, DMSc, Harvard University.

Teaching Fellowships

Application Deadline: June 1
The $25,000 Teaching Fellowship is intended to support the young periodontal educator's commitment to a career in academia by providing debt relief to a qualified applicant. The fellowships are given to qualified faculty members within their first three years of teaching at a U.S. periodontal training institution.

Recipient History The 2023 Teaching Fellowship recipients are Rafael Siqueira, DDS, MS, PhD, Virginia Commonwealth University, and Adam D. Lietzan, PhD, DMD, MS, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Educator Scholarships

Application Deadline: June 1
The $12,000 Educator Scholarship provides financial relief to a student intending to pursue a career as a full-time teacher at a U.S. periodontal program upon graduation from a U.S. periodontal postdoctoral training program. The scholarship is intended to provide help with tuition and living expenses during the training period and may also be used for debt reduction. The Educator Scholar must commit to spending one year as a full-time periodontal educator at a U.S. program for each year he/she receives the award.

Recipient History The 2023 Educator Scholarships were awarded to Zhaozhao Chen, DDS, MS, PhD, University of Michigan, and Halide Namli Kilic DDS, MSD, PhD, Indiana University.

The Richman Family Foundation Scholarship

Application Deadline: June 1

A $20,000 fellowship will be awarded annually to one or more individuals through a generous grant from Dr. Colin Richman. Fellowship applicants must be a periodontist resident, orthodontist resident or young faculty member with five or fewer years in academia at an accredited institution.

The 2023 recipients of the The Richman Family Foundation Scholarship are: 

Sahar Dowlatshahi DDS, MMSc, University of Texas at Houston

Chenshuang Li DDS, PhD, DMD, University of Pennsylvania

Tun-Jan Wang, DDS, University of Pennsylvania

The Patty and Paul Levi Research Award

Application Deadline: June 1
The recipient of the Patty & Paul Levi Research Award receives a $5,000 award. Eligibility is restricted to predoctoral students being mentored by a periodontal faculty member in a dental school where there is a postdoctoral periodontal program. Immediate family members of the AAP Foundation Board of Directors, officers, and selection committee members are not eligible to apply for the fellowship. 

Recipient History
The 2023 Patty and Paul Levi Research Award recipient is Kayla Lieuw, BA, University of California, San Francisco.

The AAP Foundation Schoor Research Award

Application Deadline: June 1
The American Academy of Periodontology Foundation supports resident research in the field of periodontology through the Robert S. Schoor Research Award Program, a $2,000 annual award for resident-written manuscript. A wide range of research subjects that are significant to the clinical practice of periodontology will be supported. The program is named in memory of Robert S. Schoor, DDS, a champion of periodontal education and students. He served as Director of the Advanced Program in Periodontics and Implant Dentistry at New York University College of Dentistry, President of the American Academy of Periodontology, and Examiner of the American Board of Periodontology. He also served as a Captain in the United States Air Force.

Recipient History
The 2023 AAP Foundation Schoor Research Award recipient is Julia Lacy, MS, DMD, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio.

Dr. James T. Mellonig Regeneration Research Award

Application Deadline: June 1
The $10,000 Dr. James T. Mellonig Regeneration Research Award recognizes excellence in original research by a resident or recent graduate in the specialty of periodontics that advances clinical therapies in periodontal regeneration. The research may deal with any aspect of hard or soft tissue regeneration that advances or supports clinical therapies in the natural dentition or with dental implant use. Applicants must have completed original research in the field of periodontal regeneration, and have produced a manuscript that has been accepted for publication, if not already published. This award was created with a generous contribution by Dr. Jo Rummelhart, in honor of her mentor Dr. James T. Mellonig. Dr. Mellonig served in the US Navy for 20 years, directed the Navy's Advanced Educational Program in Periodontics and is professor emeritus of dentistry and former director of the Advanced Education Program in Periodontics at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio.

Recipient History
The 2022 Dr. James T. Mellonig Regeneration Research Award recipient is Jacob Zellner, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio.

Nevins Teaching and Clinical Research Fellowship and Nevins BioHorizons Fellowship

Application Deadline: June 1
The $20,000 Nevins Teaching and Clinical Research Fellowship was created to address the retention of top periodontal clinical researchers and educators early in their careers. This Fellowship is intended to provide personal funding and support to those individuals who may be facing educational debt while striving to establish themselves in an academic role. The award was created by generous donors in honor of Myron Nevins, DDS, a leader in periodontal clinical research. Full-time periodontal educators who have been teaching at least one, and not more than five, full-time academic years at US programs are eligible to apply. Applicants must be board certified in periodontology.

Through a generous gift from BioHorizons, a second Fellowship will be awarded; all of the application criteria will remain the same.

Recipient History The 2023 Nevins Teaching and Clinical Research Fellowship was awarded to Shayan Barootchi, DMD, MS, University of Michigan.

The 2023 Nevins Biohorizons Fellowship was awarded to Jennifer Chang, DDS, MSD,University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston.

For More Information

If you have additional questions regarding any AAP Foundation Awards, please contact:

Ariel A. Medoff, MA, MLIS
Awards Coordinator
American Academy of Periodontology Foundation
737 N. Michigan Avenue, Suite 800
Chicago, IL 60611
Phone: 800-282-4867, ext. 3254 or 312-573-3254
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

 

Inspiring Stories
Gustavo Avila Ortiz

Gustavo-Avila-Ortiz

“I feel better and better each day that I teach. I consider myself a privileged individual for having a job that I love in a wonderful institution. At the same time, having the ability to positively influence the careers and lives of the students with whom I interact makes it feel even better. My own personal experiences as a student helped me understand the importance of mentorship, therefore, I try my best to inspire and support pre- and post-doctoral students alike. I think my progression over the past two years has been tremendous in part because of the peace of mind afforded by the AAP Foundation Teaching Fellowship I was awarded in 2011; I can focus on being the best teacher and researcher I can be without worrying about finances,” says Gustavo Avila-Ortiz, DDS, MS, PhD. 

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We are Education

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Past Award Winners Update

Congratulations to Fatemeh “Flora” Momen-Heravi, DDS, PhD, (2017 Educator Scholar, 2018 Dr. D. Walter Cohen Teaching Award Recipient) assistant professor of dental medicine at the Columbia University College of Dental Medicine, who was named the 2020 recipient of the American Association for Dental Research (AADR) Anne D. Haffajee Fellowship. The award provides early-career women researchers in the field of oral biology with financial support for training and research activities that will advance their academic careers. Read more here.

 
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