Dr. Albert H. Guay was presented with the 2012 American Dental Association Distinguished Service Award, and Dr. John S. Greenspan was presented with the 2012 ADA Gold Medal Award for Excellence in Dental Research during the first day of the 2012 ADA Annual Session.
Dr. Guay was the ADA’s chief policy advisor for ten years before retiring last year. He has been a member of the ADA for more than 50 years and has been involved with the ADA and the Massachusetts Dental Society throughout his professional career. He was honored for his years of service to organized dentistry, according to a press release.
Dr. Greenspan was presented with the Gold Medal Award in recognition of his work researching oral aspects of AIDS as well as the interactions of viruses and oral lesions. A professor of oral biology and oral pathology, and associate dean for Global Oral Health at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) School of Dentistry, and distinguished professor of pathology, and Director Emeritus, AIDS Research Institute at the School of Medicine, Dr. Greenspan received $25,000 along with the gold award medal, according to a press release.
Read the full press releases announcing the awards below.
ADA Honors Dr. Albert H. Guay with Distinguished Service Award
Award is the highest honor conferred by the ADA Board of Trustees
San Francisco - American Dental Association (ADA) President Dr. William R. Calnon is scheduled to present Dr. Albert H. Guay with the 2012 ADA Distinguished Service Award Friday, Oct. 19, during the ADA’s 153rd Annual Session and World Marketplace in San Francisco’s Moscone Convention Center. Dr. Guay is the ADA’s chief policy advisor emeritus and an ADA member for more than 50 years. The Distinguished Service Award is the highest honor conferred by the ADA Board of Trustees on an individual.
Dr. Guay earned his dental degree from Boston’s Tufts University School of Dental Medicine in 1960, the same year he joined the ADA. He earned a certificate of training in orthodontics from the Eastman Dental Center in 1966. While practicing orthodontics, Dr. Guay also taught part time at Tufts, Emerson College and the Boston University School of Medicine. Dr. Guay achieved the rank of captain in the Army Dental Corps and was awarded the U.S. Army Commendation Medal prior to practicing orthodontia in the Boston area for 26 years.
Dr. Guay served the Massachusetts Dental Society as vice president and is a past ADA trustee, having represented the First Trustee District (New England) in 1991-92 before joining the ADA staff as director of the Council on Dental Practice. Dr. Guay went on to serve as assistant and then associate executive director for the ADA Division of Dental Practice and Professional Affairs. He served the ADA as chief policy advisor from 2001 until his retirement in 2011. Dr. Guay has earned numerous honors throughout his career, including the University of
Rochester Medical Center Distinguished Alumni Award in 2007 and the American College of Dentists New England Section Service Award in 2002. His deep knowledge of the dental profession includes practice management issues, the dental marketplace, insurance industry practices, Medicare and Medicaid and other government programs and regulations, quality assurance, access to care, evidence-based dentistry and much more. His dedication and contributions to organized dentistry make him a natural for the ADA Distinguished Service Award.
The ADA Annual Session, which is being held at the Moscone Center in San Francisco Oct. 18-21, brings together leaders in dental practice, research, academia and industry to present hundreds of continuing education courses over four days. In addition, the session will feature more than 600 exhibiting companies. The annual session is expected to draw more than 30,000 dental professionals to the city.
ADA Honors AIDS Researcher with 2012 Gold Medal Award
Chicago – The American Dental Association (ADA) recently named Dr. John S. Greenspan as the recipient of the 2012 ADA Gold Medal Award for Excellence in Dental Research in recognition of his landmark AIDS research. Dr. Greenspan is a distinguished professor of oral biology and oral pathology, and associate dean for Global Oral Health at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) School of Dentistry, and distinguished professor of pathology, and Director Emeritus, AIDS Research Institute at the School of Medicine.
“This award acknowledges Dr. Greenspan’s groundbreaking research in the oral aspects of AIDS and the role of viruses in oral lesions,” said ADA President Dr. William R. Calnon. “His findings have contributed greatly to our understanding of this disease and have very positively affected global health for many populations.”
The ADA will formally present Dr. Greenspan with his award in October during the ADA 2012 Annual Session in San Francisco. The ADA Gold Medal Award for Excellence in Dental Research was established in 1985 and is presented every three years to honor individuals who, through basic or clinical research, contribute to the advancement of the dental profession or to major improvements in the oral health of the community. The honoree receives $25,000 and a gold medallion. Additionally, the recipient serves a three-year term on the ADA Council on Scientific Affairs, an appointed volunteer body of dentists that provides recommendations to the ADA’s governing bodies on scientific issues and promotes, reviews, evaluates and conducts studies on scientific matters.
“I would like to see (the Gold Medal Award) as recognizing the efforts of everyone I have worked with for the 30 years of AIDS, indeed for the entire 45-plus years of my career, as well as our patients and research project participants,” Dr. Greenspan said. “I see it also as an honor for my institution, University of California, San Francisco, the place that nurtured and supported us even in the early days when there was so much fear, marginalization and stigma to having AIDS. Those who were working on AIDS were looked upon negatively, and this institution has always supported that work, as has the Association.”
Dr. John D. B. Featherstone, dean of the UCSF School of Dentistry, nominated Dr. Greenspan for the Gold Medal Award noting that Dr. Greenspan is a founder of the field of oral AIDS research and the co-discoverer of oral hairy leukoplakia. Considered a pioneer in how oral disease relates to HIV and AIDS, Dr. Greenspan, along with his team of cohorts—including Dr. Deborah Greenspan, his spouse and colleague—has blazed many trails in dentistry.
The ADA Gold Medal Award is sponsored by Church & Dwight Co., Inc. which manufactures oral care products. The company has sponsored the Gold Medal Award with the ADA since 2005. Dr. Greenspan is the 10th prominent researcher to be honored.
Source: The American Dental Association