Midwest Perio Officers
Andre Paes Da Silva
PresidentDr. Andre Paes graduated from the Federal University of Ceara. He practiced dentistry and specialized in Periodontics in Ceara-Brazil. In 2001, he left Brazil to pursue further graduate education at the University of Toronto- Canada and received a Master’s and PhD degree from University of Toronto in the area of periodontal microbiology and inflammation. He completed the graduate periodontology program at UNC-Chapel Hill.
Currently, Dr. Paes is the Clinical Co-Director of the Periodontics Graduate Clinic at the School of Dental Medicine at CWRU. Dr. Paes has been part of the training of a total of 20 residents who presently have a license to practice periodontics either in the US or elsewhere in the world. He has successfully completed the American Board of Periodontology examinations, being awarded the status of Diplomate of the American Board of Periodontology. Dr. Paes is a patient care provider in faculty practice since 2012. He has been providing periodontal and dental implant care to patients for the past 10 years in the United States.
Dr. Paes has mentored multiple residents with their master theses. He has published his own research mostly in the area of periodontal medicine in numerous journals. In 2017, Dr. Paes received two national awards, the 2017 Award for Outstanding Teaching and Mentoring in Periodontics given by the American Academy of Periodontology (AAP), and the Nevins Teaching and Clinical Research Award given by the AAP Foundation.
Dr. Kelly Hill
President ElectKelly Hill, DDS, MSD attended Indiana University School of Dentistry for her DDS and then continued at IUSD for her MSD and Certificate in Periodontology. While in dental school and residency, Dr. Hill won the AAP Dental Student Award, James E. Humphrey DDS Memorial Scholarship Award, Henry M. Swenson Award, and the Delta Dental Foundation Community Commitment Award. After residency, Dr. Hill became a Diplomate of the American Board of Periodontology. Dr. Hill is currently in private practice in Elkhart, Indiana, where she resides with her husband and two children.
Cassandra McKenzie, MA, DDS, MS
Vice PresidentCassandra McKenzie completed her dental training at the University of Illinois at Chicago where she graduated as part of a select national dental honor society, Omicron Kappa Upsilon. After being accepted to all residency programs to which she applied, Dr. McKenzie decided to settle down in Kansas City. She completed her Certificate of Periodontics and Masters in Oral and Craniofacial Sciences at the University of Missouri – Kansas City. She is board certified in periodontology and dental implant surgery. She has also trained to provide Botox® for bruxism and orofacial pain through the American Academy of Facial Esthetics.
Dr. McKenzie remains active in education. Prior to dental school, she taught middle science in inner city Baltimore as part of Teach For America where she simultaneously earned her Masters of Arts in Teaching from Johns Hopkins. She has provided hundreds of hours of continuing education for dentists and hygienists. She is currently in private practice in the Kansas City metro.
Sukirth M. Ganesan, B.D.S., Ph.D
TreasurerDr. Ganesan is an Assistant Professor, Director of the Advanced Education Program in Periodontics and the Visiting Scholar Program at the University of Iowa College of Dentistry. He is a Diplomate of the American Board of Periodontology and a member of the Fraternal Order of Eagle’s Diabetes Research Center and Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center. Before moving to the University of Iowa, Dr. Ganesan completed his Ph.D. and Certificate in Periodontics at the Ohio State University and a post-doctoral fellowship at NIDCR/NIH. His research program, funded by the NIH and several foundations, including Osteology Foundation and the American Cancer Society, investigates the mechanisms of host-microbial interactions in maintaining oral health in the background of systemic diseases such as Metabolic Syndrome. Dr.Ganesan is the recipient of several awards from the MSP, AAP, and AADOCR, including the Balint Orban Memorial Award, Clinical Research Award, AAP Foundation Teaching Fellowship, AAP Teaching and Mentoring Award, and Research Forum Award. In addition to his service to the MSP as the Research Forum organizer in 2021 and 2022 and program chair for the 2023 Annual Meeting, Dr.Ganesan also serves on the AAP Research Submissions Committee and AAP Foundation Teaching Fellowship Committee.
Arndt Guentsch, DMD, PhD, MHBA, MS
SecretaryDr. Arndt Guentsch graduated from dental school in Germany in 2000 and received training in Periodontics at the University Hospital Jena, Germany, and Marquette University School of Dentistry, Milwaukee, WI, USA.
Dr. Guentsch is a Professor of Periodontics and the Chair of the Department of Surgical and Diagnostic Sciences at Marquette University and teaches in predoctoral and graduate Periodontics.
His passion is to combine clinic and research. His clinical practice and research focuses on guided implant surgery.
Samia Suleiman-Ata, DDS, MS
COUNCIL PERSON
Dr. Hawra AlQallaf, BMSc, BDM, MSD, MBA
COUNCIL PERSONDr. Hawra AlQallaf is a periodontist and clinical assistant professor at Indiana University School of Dentistry (IUSD). She has completed her bachelor’s in medical sciences followed by her dental degree from Kuwait University. She received her periodontal certificate and Master of Science in dentistry from IUSD in 2018. Dr. AlQallaf has also completed a restorative and digital implant fellowship with the department of Prosthodontics at IUSD in 2019. She is a Diplomate of the American Board of Periodontology. Dr. AlQallaf currently serves as the president of Indiana Society of Periodontists. She currently teaches clinical and didactic courses for both graduate and pre-doctoral students and continues patient care in a private practice located in the heart of Indianapolis, IN, USA.
William Trahan D.M.D., M.S.D.
COUNCIL PERSONWilliam Trahan D.M.D., M.S.D. developed a love for the specialty of periodontics at the age of 15 when he began shadowing and assisting a periodontist in his home town of Burlington, Vermont. After graduating from the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, Virginia, he earned his dental degree from Tufts University School of Dental Medicine. He then went on to complete his periodontal residency training and Masters of Science in Dentistry at Virginia Commonwealth University School of Dentistry. He is a diplomate of the American Board of Periodontology and is a partner at Midwest Dental Implantology in St. Charles, Illinois. Dr. Trahan is committed to organized dentistry and is a member of the American Academy of Periodontology, the Academy of Osseointegration, American Dental Association, Midwest Society of Periodontology, and is the past president of the Fox River Valley Dental Society. The pursuit of higher knowledge is one of Dr. Trahan’s guiding principles; therefore, he is often found traveling the globe to enhance his skills and understanding of dentistry. He enjoys all aspects of periodontal and implant therapy, however, he has a special interest in hard and soft tissue rehabilitation. Outside of dentistry he enjoys quality time with his wife Ann, and their three children Alex, Miles, and Lily.
Dr Albert Chan
Past PresidentDr. Chan finished periodontal specialty training with a prestigious award, Sigurd P. Ramfjord Award for Excellence in Graduate Periodontics, at the University of Michigan in 2011. Since graduation, he has been teaching as a full-time clinical faculty at the University of Michigan. Currently he is the assistant program director of the Periodontics Graduate Program at the University of Michigan. His teaching interests are microsurgery and minimally invasive regenerative surgery. His research endeavor is to study ultrasound imaging for diagnosing periodontal and peri-implant diseases. His work has been generously supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) awards and other foundations/institutes, etc. He has published more than 100 peer-reviewed articles and conference abstracts/presentations related to periodontics and implant therapy. He received several other awards from the AAP, including Fellowship to the Institute for Teaching & Learning (2011), Abram and Sylvia Chasens Teaching and Research Fellowship (2011), Nevins Teaching and Clinical Research Fellowship, the AAP foundation (2013), Outstanding Teaching and Mentoring in Periodontics (2015) and AAP Sunstar Innovation Award (2018). In addition to serving the MSP, he is a co-chair of the AAP in-service examination committee.
Dr. Timothy P. Walsh
Executive DirectorDr. Timothy P. Walsh attended St. Mary’s University in Winona, Minnesota and received a BA in Biology graduating in 1975. Dr. Walsh graduated from Loyola University School of Dentistry in 1979 and completed his residency in Periodontics in 1981 at the University of Illinois Dental School.
Dr. Walsh was President of the Illinois Society of Periodontists in 1992. He was President of the Midwest Society of Periodontology in 2001-2005. He became the Executive Director of the Midwest Society in 2018.
Dr. Walsh served as the District 4 Trustee for the American Academy of Periodontology from 2012-2018. He represented District 4 on numerous committees with the AAP during that time. He lives in Hinsdale, Illinois with his wife Cathy and is the proud parent of his 4 children and 3 grandchildren.
He is currently in private practice in Periodontics and Dental Implants in Berwyn and Westmont, Illinois.