Ann Arbor, MI — December 6, 2011 — Dr. William Giannobile, the Najjar Endowed Professor of Dentistry, professor of biomedical engineering at the College of Engineering, and director of the Michigan Center for Oral Health Research at the University of Michigan School of Dentistry, has been installed as the new president of the American Academy of Periodontology Foundation.  He will serve a one-year term that expires next November.

The Foundation’s focus is improving the periodontal and general health by increasing public and professional knowledge of periodontal diseases and their therapies, stimulating basic and clinical research, and enhancing periodontal educational and practice programs.  During the past 20 years, the AAP Foundation has awarded approximately $2 million to support periodontal education and research, according to its latest annual report.

In May, Giannobile became the first recipient of the Jan Lindhe Research Award for outstanding achievements in periodontics.  His laboratory is exploring potential novel methods of using growth factors to stimulate periodontal tissue repair.  He is also involved in clinical research designed to develop markers that can predict periodontal and peri-implant bone loss. 

In addition to his research, classroom, and clinical activities at the School of Dentistry, Giannobile is also a professor of biomedical engineering at the College of Engineering and editor-in-chief of the Journal of Dental Research, a monthly scientific journal of the International Association for Dental Research.  He has been with the U-M School of Dentistry since 1998.