Periodontist Stephen Meraw, DDS, MS, to Preside for 2023-2024 Year
CHICAGO – Dec. 21, 2023- The American Academy of Periodontology installed Stephen Meraw, DDS, MS, as its president during its 109th Annual Meeting in Austin, held Nov. 9-12. Other newly appointed officers include President-Elect Mia L. Geisinger, DDS, MS; Vice President Ana Becil Giglio, DDS; and Secretary/Treasurer Kristi M. Soileau, MEd, MSHCE, FACD, FICD.
Dr. Meraw received his Doctor of Dental Surgery degree from the University of Detroit Mercy, where he received the Thurbor Alumni Award for Clinical Excellence. He then completed his Internship in Hospital Dentistry and Residency in Periodontics at the Johns Hopkins Hospital and the Mayo Clinic, respectively. Dr. Meraw is a recipient of the AAP Foundation’s Kramer Scholar Award. He also earned a master’s degree in Biomedical Sciences from the Mayo Graduate School of Medicine, and later a second master’s degree in Health Care Management from Harvard University. Dr. Meraw works in private practice in Michigan and has served on the faculty of the University of Michigan School of Dentistry since 1999.
About Other Installed Officers:
Mia L. Geisinger, DDS, MS, President-Elect: Dr. Geisinger is a Professor, Director of advanced education in periodontology, and Acting Chair in the Department of Periodontology in the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) School of Dentistry. She is a Diplomate in the American Board of Periodontology and has served as President of the American Academy of Periodontology Foundation, Chair of the American Dental Association’s Council on Scientific Affairs, and a member of the Board of Directors of the American Dental Association Science and Research Institute. She has authored more than 75 peer-reviewed publications and is committed to the UAB Periodontology mission of optimizing the overall health of patients and communities through superior periodontal care, education, scholarship, and outreach.
Ana Becil Giglio, DDS, Vice President: As a board-certified periodontist, Dr. Giglio has served on the boards and committees of multiple dental organizations, both locally and nationally. In addition to her role with the American Academy of Periodontology, Dr. Giglio is past president of the Northeastern Society of Periodontists. Dr. Giglio conducts a full-time, private periodontal and implant dentistry practice in New York City. Since 1992, she has maintained a faculty position at New York University College of Dentistry as an Adjunct Clinical Associate Professor in the Advanced Education Program in Periodontics and Implant Dentistry. Dr. Giglio graduated from New York University, where she earned a B.A. degree in Chemistry. She then received her D.D.S. from New York University College of Dentistry in 1990 and was awarded certificates of recognition by the American Academy of Periodontology and the American Dental Society of Anesthesiology. In 1992, she was granted her postgraduate certificate in periodontics from New York University and became a Diplomate of the American Board of Periodontology in 1996.
Kristi M. Soileau, MEd, MSHCE, FACD, FICD, Secretary/Treasurer: Dr. Soileau has practiced full-time Periodontics in Uptown New Orleans since 1988. She graduated from the Louisiana State University School of Dentistry in 1985, and completed post-doctoral programs in Advanced Education in General Dentistry (1986) and Periodontics (1988), and received a Master’s in Education from the University of New Orleans in 1987. She is on-staff at Lafon Nursing Home, Touro Hospital, Nôtre Dame Hospice, the LSU School of Dentistry Department of Periodontics (gratis), serves as Secretary-Treasurer of the LSU Health Foundation Board, and is a Diplomate of the American Board of Periodontology. She is currently a member of the New Orleans Dental Association (Editor for the past 34 years, and President in 2010), The Louisiana Dental Association (President 2009), Delegate to the ADA House of Delegates (since 2011), and The American Dental Association (CEBJA, 2024 Strategic Forecasting Committee), The Pierre Fouchard Academy, The Louisiana Society of Periodontists (Organizer since 2003), The SWSP (President 2020), The American Academy of Periodontology (Trustee for District 5, and has served on and chaired many AAP committees), and is the Area 6 Regent for The American College of Dentists (working closely with the Student Ethics and Professionalism Association), and is Deputy Regent and Editor for the International College of Dentists, Louisiana Section. She completed a Master’s of Science in Healthcare Ethics in 2017 from Creighton University.
David K. Okano, DDS, MS, Immediate Past President: In 2015, after 30 years of private practice in Rock Springs, Wyoming, Dr. Okano accepted a full-time academic appointment at the University of Utah School of Dentistry, where he is currently Associate Professor and Section Head of Periodontics. He has served on numerous AAP committees since 2001, and in 2019 became chair of the Task Force to Evaluate Predoctoral Periodontal Education. Dr. Okano has served as a member of the AAP Board of Trustees since 2012, serving as secretary/treasurer during the 2019-2020 term. Dr. Okano received his Doctor of Dental Surgery degree, certificate in Periodontics and Master of Science degree, all from the University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Dentistry.
About the American Academy of Periodontology:
The American Academy of Periodontology (AAP) represents nearly 7,500 periodontists—specialists in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of inflammatory diseases affecting the gums and supporting structures of the teeth, and in the placement of dental implants. Periodontics is one of 12 dental specialties recognized by the American Dental Association.
