Richman Family Foundation Perio-Ortho Interface Grants

$20,000–$40,000 in research grants are awarded annually to individuals and collaborative teams conducting research at the intersection of periodontics and orthodontics.

Alveolar bone deficiencies provide excellent opportunities to incorporate new and innovative multidisciplinary therapies into periodontal practice. This, coupled with an appreciation that management of the airway is an essential component of orthodontic success and the health of associated periodontal tissues, provides a new paradigm of treatment, with particular implications to periodontal practice. Innovative procedures, combining regenerative periodontal therapy with orthodontic treatment, enables periodontists to minimize iatrogenic risk factors, associated with orthodontic therapy, such as gingival recession, post orthodontic relapse and apical root resorption. Most importantly, the ability of the periodontist to work in concert with the orthodontist to accelerate orthodontic treatment and minimize untoward outcomes, may assist otherwise resistant patients to undergo comprehensive treatment.

Eligibility

The primary investigator or co-PI must be a periodontics resident, orthodontics resident, or early-career faculty member in one of the two disciplines with five or fewer years in academia at an accredited institution.

Immediate family members of the AAP Foundation Board of Directors, officers, and selection committee members are not eligible to apply.

Application and Selection Procedure

Recipients are is selected by an award committee appointed by the AAP Foundation president.

Application Deadline

June 1, 2027
Payment Schedule

Grants are paid in three equal installments: 1/3 on selection, 1/3 on submission of a status report following data collection, and 1/3 following submission of a manuscript to the Journal of Periodontology or Clinical Advances in Periodontics, which have right of first refusal to publish.
Founded

2021

“The recognition helped me pursue projects that might not have been possible otherwise, and it continues to encourage innovation in a field that needs more collaborative research.”

Vrushali Abhyankar,
University of Tennessee Health Science Center

2021 Recipient – Richman Family Foundation Perio-Ortho Interface Grants

Donor

Colin Richman

The AAP Foundation is grateful to Dr. Colin Richman for the transformative gift that made these awards possible.

Born and raised in Johannesburg, South Africa, Dr. Richman attended school in South Africa and England before receiving his periodontal certificate from the University of Connecticut. Dr. Richman is a leading periodontist in Georgia. He has extensive training and experience in periodontology and has presented more than 350 lectures in the U.S. and abroad. He is a former assistant professor at the Emory University School of Dentistry and a former clinical instructor at the University of Connecticut. Dr. Richman serves as a faculty member at the Georgia Health Sciences University.

Selection Committee

Jacob Kobi Stern
Colin Richman
George Mandelaris
Drew McDonald
Zheng Zhou

Recipients

2026	Muhammad Saleh, University of Michigan
2026	Marilia Yatabe, University of Michigan
2026	Martinna Bertolini, University of Pittsburgh
2026	Ildeu Andrade Jr, University of Pittsburgh
2026	Yung-Ting Hsu, University of Washington
2026	Eslaam Kradi, University of Washington
2026	Anne-Marie Bollen, University of Washington
2026	Philippe Hujoel, University of Washington
2025	Thais MF Fernandes Poleti, University of Connecticut
2025	Eliane Dutra, University of Connecticut
2024	Karim El Kholy, Columbia University
2024	Yi-Chu Wu, Ohio State University
2024	ShinJung (Amber) Hsieh, Ohio State University
2023	Sahar Dowlatshahi, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
2023	Chenshuang Li, University of Pennsylvania
2023	Tun-Jan Wang, University of Pennsylvania
2022	Ahmed Refaat El-Awady, Augusta University
2021	Ayman Al Dayeh, University of Tennessee Health Science Center
2021	Guo-Hao Lin, University of California, San Francisco
2021	Allison Jan, University of California, San Francisco
2021	Vrushali Abhyankar, University of Tennessee Health Science Center