Midwest Perio Officers
Gustavo Avila-Ortiz
PresidentUniversity of Iowa
801 Newton Rd. Room S445 DSB
Iowa City, IA 52242
Dr. Amar Katranji
President ElectDr. Amar Katranji has worked in private practice shortly after graduating from the University of Michigan School of Dentistry for both his DDS and MS degrees. During his training, Dr. Katranji received the Michigan College of Dentists Student Award and the Ramfjord Award for Excellence. He is a Diplomate of the American Academy of Periodontology and keeps active in local and national societies. Dr. Katranji has worked with various companies to improve products prior to release and has special interest in digital workflows and techniques. He has lectured on surgical techniques and the business side of practice. He maintains busy practices in metro Detroit and Ann Arbor and is a Co-Director at Comprehensive Dental Institute.
Yusuke Hamada
Vice PresidentYusuke Hamada DDS, MSD graduated from Kyushu Dental University, obtained DDS. He completed his periodontal program at Indiana University School of Dentistry, and received MSD and certificate of Periodontics.
Dr. Yusuke Hamada is currently Clinical Assistant Professor, and Associate Program Director at the Department of Periodontology at Indiana University School of Dentistry, and practicing limited to periodontics and Implant Dentistry.
Dr. Hamada is a Diplomate of the American Board of Periodontology. He is involved didactic and clinical teaching in both pre-doctoral and graduate levels. He recently received AAP Awards for Outstanding Teaching and Mentoring in Periodontics in 2017. He enjoys teaching and conducting clinical research focus on the hard and soft tissue regenerative procedures. He is also mentoring graduate students for their thesis projects.
Andre Paes Da Silva
SecretaryDr. 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 Albert Chan
TreasurerDr. 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. Megan Ratliff
Past President1775 Glenview Rd.
Glenview, IL 60025
Megan A. Ratliff DDS MS attended Marquette University in Milwaukee Wisconsin as a dental scholar. This allowed her to complete both her bachelor in science and doctorate in dental surgery in just seven years. Following dental school, she attended the University of Louisville where she obtained her certificate in periodontology and masters in oral biology. Dr. Ratliff became a diplomate of The American Board of Periodontology following residency. In 2009, Dr. Ratliff won the Prestigious Billy M. Pennel Research Competition for her clinical research. In addition to her involvement with the Midwest Society of Periodontology, she also serves on the clinical innovations committee for the Academy of Osseointegration.
Dr. Kelly Hill
Council PersonKelly 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
Council PersonCassandra McKenzie, MA, DDS, MS
6333 Long Ave. Suite 201
Shawnee, KS 66216
913.348.4774
Cassandra 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
Council PersonDr. 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.
Dr. Megumi Williamson
MSP Research Forum ChairDr. Megumi Williamson is a clinical assistant professor at the University of Iowa College of Dentistry and currently serves as the pre-doctoral Periodontics program director at the University of Iowa. She is a Diplomate of the American Board of Periodontology. Dr. Williamson is a recipient of 2022 Leadership Engagement, Action and Development (LEAD) Program sponsored by the American Academy of Periodontology, 2021 AAP Foundation teaching Fellowship, 2019 AAP Foundation Fellowship for the Institute for Teaching and Learning in the health Professions, and 2019 AAP Awards for Outstanding Teaching and Mentoring in Periodontics. She enjoys teaching both graduate and pre-doctoral students in the clinic and continues patient care in the Faculty Practice at University of Iowa.
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.