School of Dentistry confirmed as an ITI Scholarship Center

The International Team for Implantology’s (ITI) Board of Directors and Leadership Development Committee confirmed by unanimous vote in May the UT Health San Antonio School of Dentistry as an ITI Scholarship Center. The center, to be housed in the Department of Periodontics and under the direction of Associate Professor Georgios Kotsakis, DDS, MS, aims to further the training of professional dentists who have completed postgraduate training in implant dentistry or another related field. One ITI Scholar will be hosted by the center for a one-year period, extending from Sept. 1 to Aug. 31, to engage in postdoctoral research in the Translational Periodontal Research Lab and will collaborate with a mentorship team composed of the department chair, the scholarship director, and the Graduate Program in Periodontics director. Scholarship applications open at midnight on May 31 and close at midnight on June 30 each year. Selections are announced by the end of each February by the International Team for Implantology. “We are joining a select group of prestigious universities by housing an ITI Scholarship Center,” Dr. Kotsakis said. “This really is one of the most prominent implant programs globally and we are proud to have brought it back to San Antonio. These centers are chosen for their ability to provide cutting-edge insight into the practice and research of implant treatment and are run by highly experienced ITI Fellows.” Dr. Kotsakis added that applying for scholarship center status is a competitive process and the application’s success was based on the expertise and strong publication record of the faculty in the Department of Periodontics, ongoing funded research programs, the outstanding reputation of the Graduate Program in Periodontics, the interdepartmental collaboration within the School of Dentistry, and the infrastructure provided by the Center for Oral Health Care and Research. In response to the ITI’s confirmation, Dean Peter M. Loomer, BSc, DDS, PhD, MRCD(C), FACD, specifically attributed this achievement to the leadership of Dr. Kotsakis, David Cochran, DDS, PhD, and Angela Palaiologou-Gallis, DDS, MS PhD, who were the investigators on the ITI Center grant, as well as department faculty Brian L. Mealey, DDS, MS, Brij Singh, PhD, Yong-Hee Patricia Chun, DDS, MS, PhD, and, more recently, Lea Hachem, DDS, MS. For more information about the ITI Scholarship Program, contact program director Dr. Georgios Kotsakis at Kotsakis@uthscsa.edu or visit ITI.org.