Ann Arbor, MI — June 13, 2011 — A third-year resident in the University of Michigan School of Dentistry’s graduate periodontics program, Dr. Hsun-Liang (Albert) Chan, has received the Abram and Sylvia Chasens Teaching and Research Fellowship from the American Academy of Periodontology.

The prestigious fellowship, only two are awarded annually, provides a monetary award of $15,000 to support the recipient’s teaching or research interests.

Chan said his decision to become a teacher was influenced by his father, who taught high school English, and his mother who taught music in middle school.  A clinical instructor in the School’s predoctoral clinics since 2008, Chan said he plans to continue teaching in the predoctoral clinics and the graduate periodontics clinic after receiving his master’s degree this month.  “In the future, I hope to assume a leadership role as an administrator,” he said.

“I chose to continue my dental education at the University of Michigan because of the periodontal program’s global reputation for strong didactic and clinical education, as well as its rich research resources,” said Chan.  He also thanked Dr. Laurie McCauley, chair of the Department of Periodontics and Oral Medicine, and Dr. Hom-Lay Wang, director of the graduate periodontics program, for nominating him for the award.

Chan was a visiting scholar with the School’s Department of Biologic and Materials Sciences from 2007-2008.  He earned his dental degree from Taipei Medical University in Taiwan in 2003.  Before coming to the U.S., he practiced dentistry with Taiwan’s coast guard for two years, was a general practitioner at a private practice clinic for a year, and was a resident at a hospital periodontal clinic in Taiwan for a year.

Residents in the School of Dentistry’s graduate periodontics program who received the Chasens Award have included Thiago Morrelli (2010), Darnell Kaigler (2006), De’Avlin Olguin (2004), Yong-Hee Chun (2003), and Ricardo Gapski (2003).