The American Association of Endodontists recognized seven individuals with the organization’s highest honors and awards during its recent 2013 Annual Session in Honolulu. Those honored are:
William Powell, DDS, MS, received the prestigious President’s Award, bestowed only nine times in the Association’s history and reserved for the rare member who has uniquely participated in the AAE by working behind the scenes. Dr. Powell dedicated countless hours to the advancement of the Association since joining in 1970. He served on the Governmental Affairs Committee, the Dental Benefits Committee, and presently serves as chair of the Practice Affairs Committee. He is a great advocate for the AAE in both private and public settings. As the AAE’s representative to the American Dental Association’s Code Advisory Committee for many years, he successfully worked for changes and additions to the CDT code to reflect the current state of endodontics. He has a very positive view of the future, actively encourages young AAE members to become leaders and earnestly desires the AAE to achieve greater heights of accomplishment. Dr. Powell is currently in private practice in Knoxville, Tenn.RELATED |New chair of the Quartararo Department of Endodontics at NYUCD
Samuel O. Dorn, DDS, received the AAE’s highest honor, the Edgar D. Coolidge Award, given for leadership and exemplary dedication to dentistry and endodontics. Dr. Dorn has given much of his time to the AAE and various other dentistry associations while also dedicating his career to education. Since 2009, he has served as professor and chair of the department of endodontics and director of the advanced specialty education program in endodontics at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. Previously, he was a professor of endodontics at the University of Florida while also maintaining a private practice in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. He is also the founding director of postgraduate endodontics at Nova Southeastern University. Dr. Dorn has received many awards honoring his dedication to the dental community, has authored numerous articles and textbook chapters and has lectured extensively throughout the United States, Europe, and Latin America while representing and supporting endodontics. In addition to serving as president of the AAE from 2002-2003, Dr. Dorn served as director and treasurer of the American Board of Endodontics and is a past president of several other local endodontic organizations.RELATED |AAE Foundation offering $2.5 million to fund regenerative endodontic research
Peter E. Murray, BDSc, PhD, received the Ralph F. Sommer Award, which recognizes a principal author of a publication of specific significance to the science and art of endodontology. The goal of Dr. Murray’s research is to give dentists the ability to regenerate teeth and tissues for their patients. His stem cell research has been featured in several TV and online news reports, and he has been awarded several research grants. Dr. Murray has published 155 scientific articles, book chapters, and abstracts and is editor-in-chief of the World Journal of Stomatology and editor of the textbook Endodontic Treatment. Dr. Murray’s article "Regenerative Endodontics: A Review of Current Status and a Call for Action was a gateway article to support regenerative research, and he has gone on to speak nationally and internationally to introduce others to the subject. While engaged in his cutting-edge research, he is an endodontics professor at Nova Southeastern University College of Dental Medicine, where he also mentors postgraduate endodontic residents.
H. Robert Steiman, DDS, PhD, MSD, received the I.B. Bender Lifetime Educator Award, given to a full-time educator of at least 15 years. Since his first appointment in 1967, Dr. Steiman has dedicated 41 years of his life to education at the University of Detroit School of Dentistry, serving as chair of the department of physiology, basic sciences, and endodontics, and as the director of graduate endodontics from 1980 to 2001. In 2000, he was appointed as school dean and when he retired in 2008, dean emeritus. While working in the endodontic program, he upgraded the curriculum in an effort to make the department nationally recognized and at times was the only full-time faculty member in the department. Student and faculty alike respect his leadership and teaching style, as he encourages students to think for themselves and treats them as equals. In addition to serving the University of Detroit, he is an active member of organized dentistry while being involved in local, state and national components of the AAE, American Board of Endodontics, and the American Dental Association.
Anthony T. Borgia, DDS, received the Edward M. Osetek Educator Award, which is presented to a full-time educator with less than 10 years of teaching experience who has earned the esteem and respect of students and faculty associates. Dr. Borgia left his private practice in February of 2012 after more than 25 years and is now the department chair and predoctoral director in the department of endodontics at West Virginia University School of Dentistry. Since joining WVU, Dr. Borgia has taken on the challenge to restructure the undergraduate and graduate endodontic programs, both physically and structurally. He helped raise money for facility upgrades with his goal being to create a “world-class endodontic program.” Dr. Borgia earned the respect of the entire dental department and offers undergraduates a curriculum where they can learn to better understand the concepts of endodontics in their four-year education. He has energized the endodontic community to support the school and has encouraged private practitioners to participate in educating future endodontists.
Terryl A. Propper, DDS, MS, received the Lifetime Spirit of Service Award for helping to build and grow the Interfaith Dental Clinic in Nashville, Tenn., where she is also a senior partner in a private practice. During the AAE meeting in Honolulu, Dr. Propper was also named vice president of the Association. The Interfaith Dental Clinic was founded in 1994 as a two-chair operation with one employee in the basement of a church with the mission to “restore, protect, and improve the oral health of uninsured, low-income, working people and their children in Middle Tennessee.” Since then, the clinic has moved to its own location and opened a second spot in another county. The expansion could not have been accomplished without Dr. Propper’s commitment to the organization. She volunteers for the clinic by treating patients in her office, supports the clinic financially and served on its Board of Directors, planning the largest clinic fundraiser to date. Her generous gifts of time and money benefit the underserved in her community, ensuring they have somewhere to go when they need dental care.
J. Gordon Marshall, DMD, received the Part-Time Educator Award recognizing a part-time educator of at least 20 years whose contributions have demonstrated dedication to endodontics and whose valuable contributions have instilled in his students a desire to pursue excellence in their careers. Since obtaining his Certificate in Endodontics, Dr. Marshall has been in private practice in Vancouver, Wash., and also teaches part-time as an associate professor in the department of endodontology at Oregon Health and Science University. While teaching, he has directly impacted at least 70 endodontic residents, many dental students and practicing dentists. Dr. Marshall is always available for his students, and he encourages them to analyze their findings and, most importantly, to think for themselves. He was awarded both the Part-Time Faculty of the Year Award at OHSU School of Dentistry and the John C. Peterson Alumnus of the Year Award. He frequently gives lectures and has published numerous publications and abstracts.About the American Association of Endodontists The American Association of Endodontists, headquartered in Chicago, Ill., represents more than 7,500 members worldwide. Endodontics is one of nine dental specialties formally recognized by the American Dental Association. The AAE, founded in 1943, is dedicated to excellence in the art and science of endodontics and to the highest standard of patient care. The Association inspires its members to pursue professional advancement and personal fulfillment through education, research, advocacy, leadership, communication and service. For more information about the AAE, visit the Association's website.
