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Recipients

WFO REGIONAL AWARD OF MERIT

The WFO Regional Award of Merit was established in 2015 at the 8th IOC by action of the WFO Council to amend the WFO Bylaws. This award recognizes WFO fellows, academic fellows or retired fellows who have made significant contributions to orthodontics, whether through academic, research, clinical practice or organized orthodontic pursuits. Frequently, the stars and champions of our profession are well known in their region, but WFO members in other parts of the world are unaware of the magnitude or significance of their contributions to our profession. This award was established to solicit nominations from recognized WFO affiliate organizations, leaders and individual WFO members so these people receive the recognition they deserve.

 

2019 Recipients

  • Dr. Julia Harfin
  • Dr. Trevor Hodge
  • Dr. Keki Mistry
  • Dr. Moshos Papadopoulos
  • Dr. Somchai Satravaha
  • Dr. Abbas Zaher

 

2022 Recipients

  • Dr. Kurt Faltin Jr.
  • Dr. Young-Chel Park
  • Dr. Giuseppe Siciliani

 
 

2019

Dr. Julia Harfin

Dr. Harfin received the Regional Award of Merit during the Argentine Society of Orthodontists VIII International Congress of Orthodontics and 1st International Congress of Orthodontics with aligners, which took place June 26-29 in Buenos Aires.

A long-time leader of orthodontic associations in Argentina and other parts of Latin America, Dr. Harfin recently became Vice Dean of the Dental and Medical School at Maimonides University in Buenos Aires, where she is a professor and has held academic leadership positions since 1991 including Chair of the Orthodontic Department at the School of Dentistry.

Dr. Harfin has served as the president of the Argentine Society of Orthodontics (1990–96), ALADO (Latin American Association of Orthodontics, 1999–2008), the Argentine Chapter of the International College of Dentists (1997–2001), the Argentine chapter of the Pierre Fauchard Academy (1992–1993), and the International College of Dentists Section IV (2010–12). 

A member of the Executive Committee of the World Federation of Orthodontists from 2000 to 2010, Dr. Harfin represented Central and South America. She served on the Scientific Committee of the 7th International Orthodontic Congress, held in Sidney, Australia in 2010. She has presented more than 120 course and lectures worldwide.

An Honorary Member of the Argentine, Chilean, and Polish Orthodontic Societies, Dr. Harfin is the author or editor of several books. One of her books, Adult Orthodontic Treatment (Zagier & Urruty 2nd edition, 2015), was translated into Portuguese.  Two other books, Achieving Clinical Success in Lingual Orthodontics  (Springer 2014) and Clinical Cases in Early Orthodontic Treatment: An Atlas of When, How and Why to Treat (Springer; 1st ed. 2017) were translated into Chinese. Dr. Harfin was co-editor of the latter book with Dr. Somchai Satravaha and Dr. Kurt Faltin.

Dr. Harfin has also served on the Editorial Committees of several journals, including Clinica de Ortodontia (Brazil), the Journal of the Argentine Society of Orthodontics; and Clinical Orthodontics and Research (Denmark).

 

Dr. Trevor Hodge

Dr. Hodge received the Regional Award of Merit during the 2019 British Orthodontic Conference of the British Orthodontic Society, held September 19-21, 2019 in Glasgow, Scotland.

After completing orthodontic residency programs at the University of Birmingham Dental School and the Eastman Dental Institute in London, Dr. Hodge became a Consultant Orthodontist at the Leeds Dental Institute in 2005, where he continues in that position. His practice focuses on joint orthognathic cases and the management of patients with cleft lip and palate as well as supervision of Masters’ theses and postgraduate clinical training. 

In 2007 Dr. Hodge co-founded the first course in the United Kingdom to train Orthodontic Therapists and several of his more than 40 publications have addressed career and training issues involving Orthodontic Therapists. In 2015 Dr. Hodge served as chair of the Allied Health Professional Program of the 8th WFO International Orthodontic Conference, held in London. In addition, he established education grants for the Congress that funded the fee, accommodation costs and travel for 35 young orthodontists from the developing world to attend. Each grant recipient presented a research poster providing a legacy for those countries represented.

Dr. Hodge was appointed an Honorary Clinical Associate Professor in Orthodontics at the University of Leeds in 2015, with research interests including clinical and applied research, dental public health and health services research, and research in dental education. He is an examiner at the Royal College of Surgeons (Edinburgh) for the Membership in Orthodontics exam. Dr. Hodge has lectured both nationally at the British Orthodontic Conference and internationally at the 7th and 8th IOC in Sydney and London. In 2018 he achieved European Board of Orthodontists accreditation and in the same year received the 2018 BOS Maurice Berman Prize for Clinical Excellence for the second time.

 

Dr. Keki Mistry

Dr. Mistry received the WFO Regional Award of Merit during a presentation in Mumbai on November 17, 2019.

Dr. Mistry serves as a consulting orthodontist with the private practice in Mumbai that he established more than 50 years ago. 

After receiving his dental degree from the University of Mumbai and then completing the orthodontic residency program at the University of Illinois in the United States, Dr. Mistry went on to become one of the first specialists to bring orthodontic treatment to people in India. His education has also included masters and doctoral degrees in Public Dental Health at the University of London and the Royal College of Surgeons, London, United Kingdom.  In addition, he received a medical degree from the International Open University at Copenhagen Denmark.

A former professor and Head of Orthodontics at the Government Dental College and Hospital in Mumbai, Dr. Mistry is now a professor emeritus of the college.  Active in organized dentistry in India throughout much of his career, he is a founding member and past president of the Indian Orthodontic Society, a past president of the Indian Dental Association, and served as president of most other dental organizations in India.

Dr. Mistry originated the first World Health Organization (WHO) Oral Health Day and served as a consultant on oral health to the WHO. Also committed to community service, he held leadership positions with Rotary International and was president of the Rotary Club – North in Bombay.


Dr. Moschos A. Papadopoulos

Dr. Papadopoulos received the WFO Regional Award of Merit on December 7, 2019 during the 22nd Panhellenic Congress of the Orthodontic Society of Greece and the Orthodontic Society of Northern Greece in Thessaloniki.

Professor of Orthodontics at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Dr. Papadopoulos is also the Orthodontic Department’s chairman and program director. He completed the orthodontic residency program at the University of Freiburg in Germany after graduating from the Aristotle University School of Dentistry.

Dr. Papadopoulos is a past president of the Balkan Association of Orthodontic Specialists and of the Orthodontic Society of Northern Greece. He was an honorary editor of the Hellenic Orthodontic Review and served as assistant editor of the World Journal of Orthodontics and as the associate editor of Stoma. He has served on the Editorial Boards of 19 peer-reviewed journals, and as referee for 40 orthodontic, dental and medical journals. He is an active member of more than 20 national and international societies, federations, and unions.

Having published more than 200 scientific publications, Dr. Papadopoulos has presented more than 330 lectures, courses and papers worldwide.  Currently, his clinical and research interests are focused on patients who are non-compliant with treatment requirements, the use of miniscrew implants as temporary anchorage devices in orthodontic treatment, and evidence-based orthodontic treatment.

Dr. Papadopoulos edited the books, Skeletal Anchorage in Orthodontic Treatment of Class II Malocclusion: Contemporary Applications of Orthodontic Implants, Miniscrew Implants and Mini Plates (Elsevier Ltd. 2013); and Orthodontic Treatment of the Class II Noncompliant Patient (Elsevier Ltd. 2006).

 

Dr. Somchai Satravaha

Dr. Satravaha received the Regional Award of Merit during the Thai Association of Orthodontists Scientific Conference, which took place July 11-12 in Bangkok.

Clinical associate professor at Mahidol University in Bangkok, Dr. Satravaha is a Diplomate of the Thai Board of Orthodontics. She was an Executive Committee member of the WFO from 2005-2015 and is a past president of the Thai Association of Orthodontists, the Thai Orthodontic Foundation and the Asian Pacific Orthodontic Society. 

Dr. Satravaha later served as president of the Advisory Board of the Thai Association of Orthodontists and of the Thai Association of Orthodontists’ Mobile Orthodontic Unit for Cleft Lip/Palate Patients. The latter organization sends orthodontic volunteers on a monthly basis to provide free orthodontic treatment to cleft lip and palate patients at the Maharaj Hospital in Nakhon Ratchasima (Korat), a province in northeastern Thailandfrom 2010 to 2015 and at Sawanpracharak Hospital in Nakhon Sawan, a gateway to northern Thailand since September 2015. 

She is an Honorary Member of Association of Philippine Orthodontists, the Indian Orthodontic Society, the Ho Chi Minh Association of Orthodontists, the Bangladesh Orthodontic Society, the Orthodontic & Dentofacial Orthopedic of Nepal and is an Honorary Fellow of Asian Orthodontic Society.

Recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Thai Association of Orthodontists in 2013, Dr. Satravaha also received the 2014 Outstanding Alumni Award from the Dental Alumni Association of her alma mater, Chulalongkorn University. (She also earned degrees from earned doctoral degrees from Baden-Württemberg, Germany and Munich, Germany.)

A member of the International Advisory Board of Orthodontic Waves, the Journal of the Japanese Orthodontic Society, Dr. Satravaha has lectured extensively in Thailand and in many other countries. She has spoken at meetings hosted by the American Association of Orthodontists, the Asian Pacific Orthodontic Society, the Japan Association of Adult Orthodontics, the German Orthodontic Society and others.

 

Dr. Abbas Zaher 

Dr. Abbas Zaher has received the first of several WFO Regional Awards of Merit to be presented this year.  Dr. Zaher, of Alexandria, Egypt, received his award during the 13th Annual Conference of the Saudi Orthodontic Society and 14th Arab Orthodontic Conference. The conference took place February 22-24, 2019 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Dr. Zaher is a past Executive Committee member of the WFO and served as vice president of the WFO for 2005-10. He was a founding member of the Arab Orthodontic Society and is the president of the Egyptian Orthodontic Society.

Professor and Chairman of the Department of Orthodontics and vice-dean, Faculty of Dentistry, at Alexandria University, Dr. Zaher is a past president of the 12th International Symposium on Dentofacial Development and Function. He has lectured internationally and has more than 40 scientific publications in Egyptian and international journals.

After obtaining his dental degree from the University of Alexandria, Dr. Zaher received a PhD in orthodontics, also from the University of Alexandria, and later completed an orthodontic fellowship at the University of Iowa in the United States. He received the Helen and B.F. Dewel Clinical Orthodontics Award for the best clinical article in the American Journal of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics (AJO-DO) in 1995.


 

2022

Dr. Kurt Faltin Jr.

A 2022 WFO Regional Award of Merit Recipient, Dr. Kurt Faltin Jr. of Brazil is a past member of the WFO Executive Committee (2010-15) and had been an at-large member of the first WFO Council in 2000, at the 2nd Meeting of the WFO. At that time, Dr. Faltin was president of the Asociación Latinoamericana de Ortodoncia. 

Dr. Faltin became a professor of orthodontics at the University Paulista in São Paulo, Brazil in 1982 and later became the chairman of the university’s orthodontic program. He was previously a professor in orthodontics at the University of Mogi das Cruzes, Brazil and also is an invited professor at the Facial Orthopedic Department at the University of Ulm in Germany. 

A past president of the Brazilian Association of Orthodontics and Facial Orthopedics (ABOR), Dr. Faltin also served on the ABOR committee that facilitated the development of the Brazilian Board of Orthodontics and Facial Orthopedics (BBO) in 2002. 

Dr. Faltin completed the orthodontic residency program at the Pontifical Catholic University of Campinas in Brazil and received his dental education at the University Paulista. 

Co-editor (with Dr. Julia Harfin) of the book, Clinical Cases in Early Orthodontic Treatment: An Atlas of When, How and Why to Treat (Springer International Publishing, 2017), Dr. Faltin has published nearly 50 articles in journals. His work appears in the Angle Orthodontist, the European Journal of Orthodontics and the Journal of Orofacial Orthopedics as well as basic science publications including BioMed Research International and Microscopy Research and Technique

 

Dr. Young-Chel Park

A 2022 WFO Regional Award of Merit Recipient, Dr. Young-Chel Park retired in 2015 as a professor in the Department of Orthodontics at Yonsei University College of Dentistry in Korea, where he also served as a dean. Dr. Park continues his affiliation with the university as a professor emeritus in orthodontics. He has also been a visiting professor in the orthodontic programs at the University of Connecticut and the University of British Columbia. 

A past president of the Korean Association of Orthodontists, Dr. Park was the first president of the World Implant Orthodontic Society. He is an Honorary Fellow of the Asian Pacific Orthodontic Society (APOS). 

Continuing his work as a clinician and researcher, Dr. Park, who holds both orthodontic and PhD degrees, is well-known for his pioneering research on the use of miniscrews in orthodontic treatment. 

He is the co-author of a chapter in Orthodontics: Principles and Techniques”: “Biomechanical Considerations with Temporary Anchorage Devices” (Chapter 12, 5th edition, Elsevier Mosby 2012); Chapter 20 (6th edition, Elsevier 2017); and Chapter 24 (7th edition, Elsevier 2022); Graber, Vig, Huang, and Fleming editors. 

Dr. Park is also the co-author of a book, Applications of Orthodontic Mini-implants, (Quintessence, 2007). 

He is the co-author of a chapter, “Three-dimensional Application of Orthodontic Miniscrews and Their Long-term Stability,” in the book Temporary Anchorage Devices in Clinical Orthodontics (Jae Hyun Park, editor; (John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2020) 

Dr. Park’s research appears in numerous journals worldwide. His recent work has included “Evaluation of the Effects of Miniscrew Incorporation in Palatal Expanders for Young Adults Using Finite Element Analysis” (Korean Journal of Orthodontics, March 2018); and “Skeletal and Dentoalveolar Changes after Miniscrew-Assisted Rapid Palatal Expansion in Young Adults: A Cone-Beam Computed Tomography Study (Korean Journal of Orthodontics, January 2018). 


Dr. Giuseppe Siciliani

Dr. Giuseppe Siciliani of Italy, also a 2022 WFO Regional Award of Merit recipient, became a professor in the orthodontic program at the Ferrara University School of Graduate Dentistry in 1990. He went on to become the chairman of the Department of Orthodontics in 1993 and also served as the president of the school of dentistry. He directed the First International Master in Lingual Orthodontics program at Ferrara University. 

Dr. Siciliani had previously been a research fellow in orthodontics at the Rome School of Dental Medicine and an associate professor at Rome La Sapienza Orthodontic School. He received his medical degree (1976) and dental degree (1979) from the University of Rome. 

President of the Italian Society of Lingual Orthodontics in 2003, Dr. Siciliani served as president of the Societa Italiana di Ortodonzia (SIDO) in 2004. He was also the original organizer and a long-time leader of the Mediterranean Orthodontic Integration Project (MOIP), which first began holding its annual congress in 2005. In addition, Dr. Siciliani was a deputy in the Italian Parliament from 1994 to1996. Dr. Siciliani has published more than 150 articles in Italian and international journals, collaborating in research addressing many topics including lingual appliances, open bite, use of cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT), accuracy of digital face scans, and post-treatment stability following use of miniscrews. His recent work includes the case report, “Class II Correction with Carriere Motion 3D Appliance and Clear Aligner Therapy” (Journal of Clinical Orthodontics, March 2022).