Michael Fetner, DMD, MS, a resident in the Graduate Periodontology Program, is the 2013 recipient of the Richard J. Lazzara Fellowship in Advanced Implant Surgery, one of the most prestigious awards offered by the American Academy of Periodontology Foundation.
The fellowship brings a $35,000 stipend for the recipient, intended to provide educational and clinical experiences that reflect the most current techniques in implant dentistry. The graduate program receives $15,000 payable in the third quarter, to offset overhead and administrative costs for the fellowship.
Fetner received the award, in part, due to his impressive research achievements, under the mentorship of Dr. Rodrigo Neiva and Theophilos Koutouzis.
“Michael is extremely dedicated and interested in research activities. With minimal instruction and mentoring, he developed a study to evaluate the effects of implant platform position on crestal bone levels, using a platform switch implant system in a canine model. In addition to accomplishing his research goals, he also mastered surgery and documentation,” said Rodrigo Neiva, D.D.S., M.S., director of the Graduate Program in Periodontology.
Fetner’s parents, Alan Fetner, D.M.D., and Mary Hartigan, D.M.D., earned their dental degrees and completed periodontology training at the University of Florida, and serve as volunteer faculty in the periodontology clinic.
“Michael honored the college by receiving this award and also his family. This is the most prestigious award ever received by a resident in our program,” Neiva said.
The Fellowship is named in honor of Richard J. Lazzara, one of the specialty’s true innovators in implantology, and is sponsored by BIOMET 3i. Lazzara has published widely on the subject of implantology and has lectured throughout the U.S. and internationally on the surgical and prosthetic application of implant dentistry.