WFO bestows honorary membership upon Drs. Takayuki Kuroda, Vincent G. Kokich
The WFO presented Dr. Takayuki Kuroda of Yokahama, Japan, with an honorary membership Feb. 6 during the Opening Ceremony of the 7th International Orthodontic Congress (IOC) and 4th Meeting of the WFO. Dr. Vincent G. Kokich of Tacoma, Washington, USA, also received an honorary membership, but was unable to attend the 7th IOC.
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. The WFO Executive Committee elected Drs. Kuroda and Kokich to receive the honor after receiving nominations from the WFO Council.
Drs. Kuroda and Kokich have joined an esteemed group of orthodontists who previously received this award. Drs. Arne Bjork (Denmark), Fujio Miura (Japan) and B.F. Dewel (United States) received the award in 1995. Drs. Thomas Graber (United States) and Birgit Thilander (Sweden) received the award in 2000. Drs. James Moss (United Kingdom), Milton Sims (Australia), Samir Bishara (United States) and Dr. Donald Woodside (Canada) received the award in 2005.
“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 1965, 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. Kokich greatly appreciates 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 is a graduate of the University of Washington’s dental and orthodontic programs, has 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 has 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. To date, Dr. Kokich has given 40 named lectures.
Dr. Kokich also serves 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 has honorary memberships in the British Orthodontic Society, the Polish Orthodontic Society, the Taiwan Association of Orthodontists and the Pacific Coast Society of Prosthodontists.