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, professor and chair of the Department of Periodontics, has been selected as this year’s recipient of the prestigious Nobel Biocare Brånemark Osseointegration Award. This award, given annually by the Osseointegration Foundation (OF), honors an individual whose impact on implant dentistry is exemplary in the foundation’s mission categories: research, education and charitable causes.

“This is an incredible honor for me as it is one of the most prestigious awards in implant dentistry. Most of the past awardees are the most famous people involved in dental implants, including Dr. Brånemark himself, so it is especially meaningful. I am very proud that our contributions here at the health science center to the science of implantology are being recognized,” Cochran said.

A member of the Academy of Osseointegration’s (AO) for the past 30 years, he is an AO Life Fellow and served as AO president in 2013 –2014. During his tenure as an AO member, Cochran has served in numerous capacities, including co-chair of the State of the Science on Implant Dentistry (SSID) as well as many committees, task forces and the OF board of directors.

Cochran is a board-certified periodontist and biochemist. He currently serves on the scientific advisory board and as a consultant to several bio-medical research companies. He is an active basic science, animal and clinical translational researcher who received funding from the NIH-NIDCR and private industry.  Cochran has served on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Dental Advisory Panel and has since helped present several products to the FDA that were subsequently approved for use in the oral cavity.