Focus on Gustavo Avila-Ortiz
“Every cloud has a silver lining” Marie-Terese Mucha | Osteology Foundation
Gustavo became a member of THE BOX team in 2015 and stayed until 2019. His first group meeting in Zurich was also his first time in Switzerland. He loved all aspects of the experience: he met old friends, made new friends and learned about the culture and vision of the Foundation. In subsequent virtual and in-person group meetings, they worked cohesively with the guidance and support of the Osteology Foundation office to expand, refine and monitor the structure and content of THE BOX. In 2016, Gustavo also joined the “Expert Council family.” “I treasure the invitation back in 2016. It
is something that I carry with honour and pride. Since I joined this “family” I have mostly served as a reviewer of grant applications and was also involved in several symposia, either as a speaker or on the organising committee. It has been both enriching and stimulating.”
A family always enjoys coming together “Osteology Monaco 2016 was the first Osteology educational event that I had ever attended, and I very much enjoyed the experience,” remembers Gustavo. In addition to the great programme and its speakers, Gustavo had a wonderful time at the social events. He met a number of new friends again with whom he enjoys coming together. In 2018, he was invited by the Foundation to be a speaker in the main programme and a judge in the research competition at the National Osteology Symposium USA (Phoenix). The topic of his presentation was “Maxillary Sinus Augmentation.” He had the opportunity to share the podium with giants in the field and he learned tremendously from all of them. “Kudos to the chairpersons Pamela McClain and William Giannobile and the rest of the team for organising such a high quality event,” he says. In 2019, Gustavo participated in the annual meeting of the AAP (American Academy of Periodontology) as a speaker during the Osteology Foundation session. He shared the podium with Purnima Kumar, Frank Schwarz and Paul Rosen. The title of his presentation was “Optimizing Single Tooth Replacement by Leveraging on Regenerative Therapy and Digital Technologies.” He adds: “I am so pleased to see how the AAP and the Osteology Foundation, two organisations that occupy a special place in my heart, have established a solid and mutually beneficial collaboration. It is through these synergies that we grow stronger together.”
Gustavo on stage at the Osteology Session at AAP 2019
Photo: Daniele Micieli
Gustavo Avila-Ortiz was born in Granada, Spain. Currently he is a tenured full professor and the chair of the Department of Periodontics at the University of Iowa College of Dentistry in Iowa City (USA). Six years ago he got in contact with the Osteology Foundation for the first time. The Osteology Foundation talked to him about how his professional career has developed since then and how the Foundation has supported him in this process.
