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Awards

WFO Honorary Membership

About the Award

Honorary membership in the WFO is the highest honor awarded by the WFO and is presented to orthodontists who have rendered outstanding service to the specialty of orthodontics worldwide. Nominations for this honorary designation are submitted to the WFO Executive Committee, which then forwards its recommendations to the WFO Council. The WFO Council makes the final determination as to who shall receive an honorary fellowship.

Recipients

Dr. Bjork, who died Feb. 5, 1996, was professor and head of the Department of Orthodontics and head of the Craniofacial Growth Center at the Royal Dental College in Copenhagen for 30 years. He was instrumental in establishing the Danish specialist training in orthodontics and was active in the Danish Orthodontic Society for many years. For his important research in facial growth he received several awards, including the Isaac Schour Memorial Award,  the Jarabak Teaching Award and the Albert H. Ketcham Memorial Award.

Dr. B.F. Dewell

Dr. Dewel, who died Oct. 6, 1999, was highly honoured and well-known for his writings and support of serial-extraction procedures. He was one of the first teachers in the graduate orthodontic program at the University of Iowa. He also served as the vice president of the Third International Orthodontic Congress in London, England, in 1973. He was a past president of The American Board of Orthodontics, and, for 10 years, was editor of the American Journal of Orthodontics.

Professor Fujio Miura

Dr. Fujio Miura entered dental school and in 1947 graduated from the Tokyo National Medical and Dental School. Then he chose to study orthodontics under Professor Shinjiro Takahashi. He was especially interested in the physiologic aspects of orthodontics, including masticatory muscle function. He was one of the first to use electromyography to study oral function. “It was very difficult to use manufactured electrical equipment and materials for experiments in the days right after the second world war,” said Dr Miura. “So I had to make the recording equipment for jaw movement and also needle electrodes to pick up electromyographic recordings by myself.”

In 1949, he became an instructor in the Department of Orthodontics in the School of Dentistry at Tokyo Medical and Dental University. In 1957, he was awarded an MD degree. From 1960 to 1961, he served as a research associate with Professor Albert A. Dahlberg at the Zoller Memorial Dental Clinic, Human Anthropology Department, at the University of Chicago.  After Professor Shinjiro Takahashi retired in 1962, Dr Miura succeeded him in the orthodontic department as professor and chair. His research interests focused on 4 areas: comparative studies on Mongoloid craniofacial morphology, tooth movement, masticatory function, and dental materials for orthodontic treatment. During his time, two world-famous areas of research were developed in his orthodontic department. The first area of study was the development of a direct bonding system to place brackets directly on tooth enamel replacing the use of orthodontic bands and existing dental cements. This idea had been a dream of orthodontists for a long time, however, no one succeeded to have a reliable bonding system before Dr. Miura. The second area of clinical research was equally impressive and impactful to the orthodontic world. Dr. Miura’s studies focused on tissue response after applied orthodontic forces. He thought there should be an optimum force for specific tooth movement. He studied different patterns of stress-strain characteristics produced in different kinds of orthodontic wire. Dr. Miura found that Nickel-Titanium wire showed a constant force level even when changing stress level, a so-called super-elasticity. Today, orthodontists throughout the world use this Ni-Ti wire with its other characteristic of shape memory.

During the time, he served as president of the Japan Orthodontic Society (1974-1979) he was instrumental in effecting 2 major changes. The first was to obtain permission from the government to allow “orthodontist” to describe private practitioners. The second was to convince the national social health care service to cover the cost of orthodontic treatment for patients with cleft lip and palate.

He received many prestigious awards, notably the Medal of Purple Ribbon in 1989 and the Third Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon, in 1995 from the Emperor of Japan. From the American Association of Orthodontists, he received the Louise Ada Jarabak Memorial International Teacher and Research Award in 1984 and, from the American Board of Orthodontics, the Albert Ketcham Memorial Award in 1998. The International Association for Dental Research gave him the Distinguished Service Award in 2007.

He passed away March 4, 2018, at the age of 92 and the orthodontic community all over the world is truly indebted to Dr Miura. We all continue to mourn the loss of a scientist, clinician, educator, and leader.

Dr. Birgit Thilander

Dr. Birgit Thilander is the professor emeritus in orthodontics at the University of Göteborg in Sweden. After finishing the postgraduate orthodontic program at the Royal School of Dentistry in Stockholm, Sweden, in 1961, she moved to Umeå, Sweden, where she was an associate professor for the Department of Orthodontics at the University of Umeå. At the time, she and her colleagues at the university were the only orthodontists in the northern part of Sweden. In 1963, she became acting professor and chair of this department. In 1969, she moved on to the University of Göteborg, where she served as professor and chair of the Department of Orthodontics until 1991. She was also a visiting professor for the Department of Orthodontics at the National University of Colombia in Bogota, Colombia, from 1993 to 1999. At the time of receiving the honorary membership, she had written three textbooks and served as the editor of the textbook Introduction to Orthodontics. She had also written 180 articles for various international journals and had produced 10 chapters for several books. Her research focus is on craniofacial growth and development, functional aspects, orthodontic tooth movement in periodontal therapy, tooth transplantation and implants.

“To be an honorary member of the World Federation of Orthodontists has, of course, shed golden luster upon me and also upon all the students who have followed my research profile and have become well-known orthodontists themselves,” Dr. Thilander said at the time. “I am deeply touched but also very happy and very proud about this special honor.”

She supports the WFO’s goals to enhance the specialty on a global basis. “I hope that the WFO will improve the quality of clinical orthodontics by designing a three-year program for students in orthodontic training,” Dr. Thilander said in 2000. “This program has to be universal to avoid differences between different parts of the world. Furthermore, I want to see more time for research, basic as well as clinical. In the future, the teamwork with other specialties has to be stressed in order to widen our orthodontic horizon.”

Dr. T.M. Graber

Dr. T.M. Graber served as editor-in-chief of the American Journal of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics (AJO-DO) from 1985 to 2000. During his tenure as editor-in-chief and his five years as the abstracts and reviews editor, Dr. Graber reinvented the journal so that it is now the flagship publication for the specialty.

Due to Dr. Graber’s tremendous contributions to the journal, the American Association of Orthodontists Board of Trustees designated Dr. Graber as editor emeritus of the AJO-DO for life. The May 2000 issue of the AJO-DO was produced in honor of Dr. Graber.

Dr. Graber, who died June 26, 2007, worked in academic, clinical and laboratory settings throughout his career. Dr. Graber founded and ran the graduate Orthodontics Department at the University of Chicago. He also served as a clinical professor of orthodontics at the University of Illinois – Chicago and as the director of the Kenilworth Dental Research Foundation, which he founded in 1964. Throughout his career, he was a prolific writer; he wrote numerous textbooks, including Orthodontics: Current Principles and Techniques, and contributed to hundreds of publications.

“Honorary membership in the WFO means a great deal to me,” he said in 2000. “We are truly one world of orthodontics now ― so being part of a world-class organization like this means a lot by itself. But when one becomes an honorary member, it is truly special. I am joining people like my dear friends Tod Dewel, Fujio Miura and Birgit Thilander. The WFO is truly the wave of the future, as orthodontists from all over the world share and communicate with each other. We all learn. I am proud that the AAO initiated the formation of this organization, recognizing the importance of sharing with our professional colleagues around the world. I hope to remain active in fostering the aims of the WFO and its relationship with the AAO in the years ahead.”

Dr. Samir Bishara

Dr. Bishara, who died Oct. 8, 2010, was a researcher, teacher and clinician who shared his expertise by way of multiple international appointments and presentations. He was an active leader in the development of international orthodontic relations and board certification.

Dr. Bishara received his dental degree and diploma in orthodontics from Alexandria University in Alexandria, Egypt. From 1957 to 1968, he practiced general dentistry in Alexandria. He then moved to the United States and received his master’s degree and certificate in orthodontics from the University of Iowa in 1970. In 1972, he earned his second DDS degree from the University of Iowa. He then pursued an academic career and maintained a private orthodontic practice in Iowa City, Iowa. He served as a professor within the Department of Orthodontics at the College of Dentistry at the University of Iowa until the time of his death.

“The award is a great honor,” Dr. Bishara said in 2005. “It is particularly important because it comes from the organization that represents the highest ideal of our profession worldwide. It is also particularly important to me because it recognizes the contributions and all the help that I have received from so many people along the way. This includes my family, my teachers, my students and my colleagues from all over the world.”

Dr. James Moss

Dr. Moss, who died June 14, 2010, was a professor emeritus in orthodontics at London University and the Royal London School of Medicine and Dentistry. He held numerous joint academic appointments, participated actively in both clinical and basic science research, and was a leader in organized orthodontics in every association he joined. His leadership tenure with the European Orthodontic Society (EOS) was associated with growth and the worldwide recognition of the EOS. He became the international “face” and, more recognizably, “the voice” of that organization. Dr. Moss became a fellow of the WFO in 1996.

“This award is one of the highlights of my professional career as it emphasizes the acknowledgement of the international orthodontic community of the contribution one has made to orthodontics worldwide,” Dr. Moss said at the time. “It also highlights the contribution of British orthodontics to orthodontics worldwide.”

Dr. Milton Sims, AO

Dr. Sims received his dental education in Australia and augmented his orthodontic education through a Fulbright scholarship in the United States. He then moved back to Australia to become the inaugural Reader in Orthodontics at Adelaide University. There he established the graduate orthodontic program and continued basic and clinical science research in the Faculty while extensively lecturing abroad on a wide range of subjects and initiating collaboration with researchers and other clinicians.

Dr. Sims was actively involved in the treatment of patients for more than 45 years, of which 33 years were spent in academia and part-time private practice. For 12 years, he was a visiting research fellow at the University of Adelaide. From 1994-96, he accepted the first full professorship appointment as head of the Department of Orthodontics at the University of Sydney. Subsequently, he became a visiting professor to the University of Sydney. He died May 31, 2006.

“It is an exceptional honor and, personally, most exciting to have one’s lifetime professional service in academic teaching, research and professional practice recognized by one’s international colleagues,” Dr. Sims said at the time of receiving the award. “Furthermore, from a very patriotic point of view, it is a wonderful occasion when your own country also receives such an accolade for its contribution to a worldwide profession. Equally significant is the fact that such recognition is also an equal acknowledgement of the ongoing support that I have always received during my career from my orthodontic colleagues at home and overseas.”

Dr. Donald Woodside

Dr. Woodside received his dental education in Canada where, early in his career, he, too, was recognized for his research and is now well-known for his research on mandibular growth. During his career, he spent 32 years in full-time academic positions. He is a professor emeritus in orthodontics at the University of Toronto.

“Dr. Woodside has been a fixture at the University of Toronto for over 50 years, serving the majority of those years as chair,” said Dr. Lee Graber, past president of the WFO, in 2005. “His skills have been recognized by the fact that he has given every major international lecture and has been awarded all the highest awards by the Canadian Association of Orthodontists and the American Association of Orthodontists. Dr. Woodside has motivated many of his students and international collaborators to be leaders in orthodontic education and research in their own countries.”

Dr. Donald G Woodside passed away peacefully on July 19, 2013 at the age of 86.

Dr. Takayuki Kuroda

“It is a great honor!” said Dr. Kuroda, who served on the first WFO Executive Committee. “Of the former recipients, Dr. Fujio Miura and Dr. Arne Bjork were my teachers and mentors. Without their leadership and guidance, I could not have this honor.”

Dr. Kuroda graduated from the Tokyo Medical and Dental University in Tokyo, Japan, in 1961. He subsequently received his orthodontic education and PhD from the Tokyo Medical and Dental University.

After completing his PhD in 1966, Dr. Kuroda served as a research fellow at the Royal Dental College in Copenhagen, Denmark, from 1966 to 1967, and at the Center for Human Growth and Development at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA, from 1969 to 1970. From 1981 to 1999, he served as professor and chair of the Second Department of Orthodontics in the Faculty of Dentistry at the Tokyo Medical and Dental University. From 1999-2002, he served as professor and chair of the Department of Maxillofacial Reconstruction at the university. In 2002, he was named professor emeritus.

Dr. Vincent G. Kokich

Dr. Kokich greatly appreciated the WFO’s gesture to recognize his contributions to the specialty of orthodontics, as well. “Although I have received several awards during my orthodontic career, this, perhaps, is one of the most significant because it was bestowed by a worldwide body, the World Federation of Orthodontists,” said Dr. Kokich, who has been on the faculty of the University of Washington in Seattle, Washington, USA, since 1974. “During my lecturing and teaching career, I have spoken to orthodontic societies in over 50 countries. It is both humbling and rewarding to have been recognized by my orthodontic colleagues in different parts of the world. I will always treasure this special recognition.”

Dr. Kokich, who was a graduate of the University of Washington’s dental and orthodontic programs, authored more than 20 book chapters and has written or contributed to 100 scientific and review articles published in the United States and abroad. He has given hundreds of scientific presentations since 1975 to local, regional, national and international dental and orthodontic organizations and study clubs. Dr. Kokich frequently lectured at the American Association of Orthodontists (AAO) Annual Sessions, giving lectures such as the John Valentine Mershon Memorial Lecture, the Jacob A. Salzmann Lecture and the Edward H. Angle Lecture. As of 2010, Dr. Kokich had given 40 named lectures.

Dr. Kokich also served as the editor-in-chief of the American Journal of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics (AJO-DO). He is a past president of The American Board of Orthodontics and the American Academy of Esthetic Dentistry. He is also a fellow of the American Academy of Esthetic Dentistry, the American College of Dentists, the Royal College of Surgeons of England and the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh. He had honorary memberships in the British Orthodontic Society, the Polish Orthodontic Society, the Taiwan Association of Orthodontists and the Pacific Coast Society of Prosthodontists.

July 24, 2013, Dr Kokich died and the orthodontic world suffered a huge loss.

Professor Nigel Hunt

Noted for both his academic and clinical endeavors, Prof. Hunt is the head of the orthodontics unit at London Eastman Dental Institute (EDI), president of the British Orthodontic Society (BOS) and dean of the Faculty of Dental Surgery of the Royal College of Surgeons of England.

Prof. Hunt’s working life has been most associated with EDI. Prior to undertaking his specialist orthodontic training at EDI, he worked in oral and maxillofacial surgery at Guy’s Hospital, London, where he treated orthognathic cases. He saw that there was little research into orthognathic outcomes, and this would lead him to continue beyond orthodontic specialty training to become an orthodontic consultant.

His research on musculo-skeletal adaptation to disturbances of the craniofacial complex resulted in the award of a doctorate in philosophy from the Faculty of Medicine, University of London in 1992. “He has been a consistently productive author of papers on the role of muscles in the etiology, prognosis and outcome of treatment of craniofacial developmental anomalies.”

For a few years, Prof. Hunt worked between EDI and two other dental hospitals in southeastern England, including East Grinstead, which has a facial deformity center. Then, in 1992, he resumed a full-time post at EDI, working as a consultant, senior lecturer and director of research. In 1996, he became head of the orthodontic unit at EDI and a consultant in orthodontics with the University College London Hospitals Trust. He was appointed as professor of orthodontics and head of the Division of Craniofacial Growth and Development at the University College London in 1998.

When he served as the BOS chairman, an honorary position, Prof. Hunt oversaw a complete reorganization of the BOS. The society now has directorates, each one overseeing an essential aspect of the orthodontic profession, whether education, research, clinical standards or governance.

Prof. Hunt is a member of two editorial boards and several examination boards. He is also an international speaker who has published 100 papers, one book and several book chapters. He also works as an expert witness for the UK’s regulatory body, the General Dental Council.

Professor Birte Melsen

Although Prof. Birte Melsen was encouraged by her family to pursue a career in dentistry, she will tell you that she was not thrilled with this choice. “I hated dentistry, but my stepfather decided that this was what I was to do,” said Prof. Melsen, who attended the Royal Dental College (now known as the School of Dentistry) in Aarhus, Denmark. “Fortunately, I met Prof. Harvold and, later, a lot of other inspiring colleagues – anatomy professor Arne Knudsen, Charlie Burstone, Harold Frost — just to mention some of those who demonstrated the fascination of biology and mechanics. And I fell in love with orthodontics.”Prof. Melsen graduated with her dental degree from the Royal College of Dentistry in 1964. After serving in private practice and community dentistry, she became a research associate in the Department of Anatomy while simultaneously pursuing her postgraduate education in orthodontics.

In 1971, as a specialist in orthodontics, Prof. Melsen became the acting head of the Department of Orthodontics at the Royal Dental College. By 1975, she was professor and head of the Department of Orthodontics, which she oversaw until 2012. Today, she is affiliated with the University of West Australia, the University of Hannover in Germany and the Department di Odontostomatologia at the Universita di Torino in Torino, Italy. Since 1986, she has maintained a part-time private practice in Lubeck, Germany, which is limited to adult patients.

Prof. Melsen has authored six books, 18 book chapters and 380 papers in the fields of growth and development based on research of human autopsy material, bone biology, biomechanics, interdisciplinary treatment, skeletal anchorage and tissue engineering. Much of her early research cannot be duplicated, as researchers no longer have the access to human autopsy material that she had in her early years of research. In addition, she has been involved in multi-center studies in South Korea, Australia, Belgium and Italy, and is writing a book on current research on asymmetry.

In addition to her work in the specialty of orthodontics, Prof. Melsen devotes her time and resources to help underprivileged children in South America, specifically those in northeast Brazil. She is a longtime supporter of Viva.org, an organization that supports thousands of projects to assist at-risk children in 21 countries.

Prof. Melsen has received many honors for her work. In 2000, she received the Knighthood of Dannebrog 1st degree, the highest award possible for university-affiliated researchers. In 2006, she received the Bagger Sorensen Award for landmark research. In addition, Prof. Melsen has given numerous named lectures, including the Sheldon Friel Memorial Lecture, the Alton Moore Memorial Lecture, the Wendell Wylie Memorial Lecture, the Robert Moyers Memorial Lecture, the Northcroft Memorial Award, the Ruys Memorial Lecture and the Ticiano Bacetti Memorial Lecture. She has honorary memberships in 11 orthodontic and dental organizations around the world.

Prof. Melsen has been a longtime member of the WFO, and her honorary membership in the WFO brings her great satisfaction as she realizes that her research has been accepted internationally.

Professor Anne-Marie Kuijpers-Jagtman

Anne-Marie Kuijpers-Jagtman, Professor Emeritus, the Radboud University Nijmegen, The Netherlands.

From 1995 to September 2014, Professor Kuijpers-Jagtman was Chairperson of the Department of Orthodontics and Cranio-facial Biology at Radboudumc. She serves as Professor of Orthodontics at Universitas Indonesia in Jakarta (Indonesia) since 2009 and a visiting professor at Wuhan University in China since 2018. She is a Past-President of the European Orthodontic Society.

Professor Kuijpers-Jagtman is leader in the development and promotion of high quality postgraduate education in orthodontics, both nationally and internationally. She is co-founder of Network for Erasmus Based European Orthodontic Programmes (NEBEOP) and was the President until June 2017. In 2009 and 2012 she was awarded the title of Principal Lecturer of the Radboud University for her teaching achievements. She is the Distinguished Teacher of the EOS for the year 2017.

Professor Kuijpers-Jagtman is Editor-in-Chief of Orthodontics and Cranio-facial Research, which is in the top-5 impact factor journals in orthodontics, and a member of the Editorial Board of a number of scientific journals. She has undertaken extensive research during the past 30 years in the area of cleft lip & palate and tissue reactions during orthodontic tooth movement. At present, her major interests are in clinical applications of three-dimensional (3D)-imaging and evidence-based orthodontics. She has (co)authored over 350 peer-reviewed papers, supervised 48 PhD theses and given numerous lectures in 40 countries around the globe.

Dr. Ravindra Nanda

Dr. Ravindra Nanda is a professor and Head of the Department of Craniofacial Sciences and Chair of the Division of Orthodontics at the University of Connecticut School of Dental Medicine. He is part of the founding faculty of School of Dental Medicine and has been at the University of Connecticut since 1972 where he also holds an Alumni Chair in the Orthodontics Division. He is an innovator of various appliances in orthodontics. His research and clinical interests include adolescent and adult orthodontics, the biology of tooth mobility, craniofacial orthopedics, biomechanics and developing efficient mechanics to deliver orthodontic care.

Dr. Nanda was born in Lyallpur, British India (presently Faisalabad, Pakistan) as the youngest of seven children. Dr. Nanda received bachelor’s and master’s degrees in dentistry and orthodontics from King George’s Medical College, Lucknow University. His thesis on “Cephalometric Study of the Dentofacial Complex of North Indians” was selected for the scholarship research grant from the Indian Council of Medical Research and was published in the January 1969 issue of the Angle Orthodontist. He joined Katholieke Universiteit, Nijmegen, the Netherlands in 1967 and received his PhD in Philosophy in 1969. Dr. Nanda came over to the new dental school at Loyola in Chicago in 1970, after serving as fellow and assistant professor in orthodontics with Frans van der Linden. In 1972, he advanced to the Department of Orthodontics, University of Connecticut in Farmington, CT, and received his certificate in orthodontics under Dr. Charles Burstone and moved from assistant professor to full professor in 1979. He assumed the position of Head of the Department of Orthodontics in 1992 and was promoted to lead the Department of Craniofacial Sciences in 2004, which include the divisions of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Pediatric Dentistry, Advanced Education in General Dentistry, and Orthodontics.

Dr. Nanda is a member and past-president of the North Atlantic component of the Edward H. Angle Society of Orthodontists. Currently, Dr. Nanda is the editor-in-chief of Progress in Orthodontics, the associate editor of Journal of Clinical Orthodontics and on the editorial board of nine national and international orthodontic journals. He has authored and edited seven textbooks and more than 200 publications and peer-reviewed journals. He has given keynote lectures in more than 40 countries and has received awards and honors from U.S and international orthodontic organizations. Most recently Dr. Nanda was honored with a Life Time Membership to the Indian Orthodontic Society (IOS), at the 8th APOC in New Delhi, India.