Bud and Linda Tarrson Fellowship

One $30,000 fellowship is awarded annually to support early-career periodontal faculty committed to careers in teaching and research.

The award is not intended to replace support that would normally have been provided by the recipient’s institution.

Eligibility

Candidates for the Fellowship must be either a full-time faculty member at the instructor, assistant, or associate level or a part-time faculty member.

The candidate must be affiliated for 10 years or less with a degree-granting institution, and their career goal must be teaching and research in periodontology. Applications will be accepted only from candidates at U.S. institutions. Educators may receive only one fellowship from the AAP Foundation including the Teaching Fellowships, Nevins and Nevins BioHorizons Fellowships, and Tarrson Fellowships. Immediate family members of the AAP Foundation Board of Directors, officers, and selection committee members are not eligible to apply.

Application and Selection Procedure

The recipient is selected by an award committee appointed by the AAP Foundation president. Finalists are required to attend a personal interview with the selection committee, conducted via videoconference.

Application Deadline

May 1, 2027
Payment Schedule

Fellows are paid in $10,000 installments over three years, in April of each year of full-time teaching. Fellowship payments are taxable income.
Founded

1998

“It’s important to have fellowship awards like the Bud & Linda Tarrson Fellowship to demonstrate that the specialty values not only clinical excellence, but also scholarly and educational contributions that help move the field forward and evolve it in a positive way.”

Sandra H. Stuhr,
University of Michigan

2025 Recipient – Bud and Linda Tarrson Fellowship

Donor

Bud and Linda Tarrson

The AAP Foundation is grateful to donors including Linda and the late E. Bud Tarrson, the Tarrson Dental Research Foundation, and Ronald Tarrson for their support of this fellowship.

A philanthropist, like a teacher, can affect eternity as well. This is what Mr. Bud Tarrson set out to achieve. As an industrialist, he established himself as a leader in the science and technology of prevention in fighting all forms of dental diseases and conditions. The former president and owner of the John O. Butler Company earned a reputation for product, sales, and service excellence by working in partnership with dentistry and its specialists to serve the oral health needs of the public. He recognized the importance of dental education and research, and worked closely with dental scientists and clinicians to develop effective instruments for dental disease prevention. Through his foundations, he generously supported projects of numerous organizations included the World Health Organization, the March of Dimes, Project Hope, the American Fund for Dental Health, and the American College of Dentists. He was a trustee advisor of the American Fund for Health and a board member of the Academy of General Dentistry Foundation. He received a special award from the Republic of Panama in 1987 for his contribution to the dental health of the people of Panama and to the dental profession. He received numerous honors including the Award of Merit of the American College of Dentists, honorary membership in the American Dental Association and the American Academy of Periodontology. He was a great friend of dental education and gave generously to several dental schools. In gratitude for his personal success, he took the initiative to give something back to dentistry and has done so through his many contributions to education. Following Bud’s death Linda continued to champion the couple’s concern for oral health. The Tarrson Fellowship represents the Tarrsons’ gift to countless generations of dentists and the people they serve. It is the Tarrsons’ gesture of philanthropy, which will continue the legacy of helping to provide the best quality services to both patients and students.

Selection Committee

Flavia Q. Pirih
David Jolkovsky
Yi-Chu Wu
Vivek Thumbigere-Math

Recipients

2026	Monica Prasad Gibson, Indiana University
2025	Sandra H. Stuhr, University of Michigan
2024	Karim El Kholy, Columbia University
2023	Beatriz Bezerra, University of California, Los Angeles
2022	Lea El Hachem, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio
2021	Vrisiis Kofina, Marquette University
2020	Sejal Thacker, University of Connecticut
2019	Carlos Parra, Texas A&M University
2018	Irina Dragan, Tufts University
2017	Seiko Min, University of Southern California
2016	Chin-Wei (Jeff) Wang, University of Michigan
2014	Patricia A. Miguez, University of Pennsylvania
2013	Flavia Q. Pirih, University of California, Los Angeles
2012	Patricia I. Diaz, University of Connecticut
2011	Takanari Miyamoto, Creighton University
2010	Bing-Yan Wang, University at Buffalo
2009	Mohanad Al-Sabbagh, University of Kentucky
2008	Efthimia Ioannidou, University of Connecticut
2007	Tae-Ju Oh, University of Michigan
2006	Monish Bhola, Indiana University
2005	Keith Kirkwood, University at Buffalo
2004	Vanchit John, Indiana University
2003	James Katancik, University at Buffalo
2002	Paulo M. Camargo, University of California, Los Angeles
2001	Richard Oringer, Harvard School of Dental Medicine
2000	Frank Roberts, University of Alabama
1999	Anna Dongari-Bagtzoglou, University of Texas San Antonio
1998	William V. Giannobile, Harvard University