AAP Foundation Giving – McGuire Program Announcement
McGuire Program for Clinician Scientists to Provide Training in Practice-Based Research
In 2027 the American Academy of Periodontology Foundation will create a new pathway for established periodontists to implement high-level research programs in their private practice environments. The McGuire Program for Clinician Scientists will begin with an intensive seminar: a two-and-a-half-day immersion and principal entry point into the clinician-scientist development pathway. Its purpose is not to make someone a researcher in two days, but to answer a more fundamental question: What does excellent practice-based research really look like and how can it be successfully accomplished in the midst of a busy private practice? Seminar participants will then have the option to apply for a second stage of training, the McGuire Fellowship for Clinician Scientists, a defined, year-long pathway designed to develop practicing periodontists into thoughtful clinician scientists, investigators, collaborative leaders, mentors, and lifelong stewards of evidence-based practice.
Startup funding for the program has been provided by a major gift from the Michael K. McGuire Family, with additional funding by current Foundation President Dr. Christopher Richardson and two of Dr. McGuire’s patients. These gifts have made it possible for the Foundation to commit to the program for at least three years; further extension will depend on the results of fundraising, with the goal being to raise a permanently restricted $1 million fund that will endow the program in perpetuity.
McGuire is the founder of the McGuire Institute (iMc), a network of master clinicians trained and qualified to conduct high level clinical research in a practice-based setting and located strategically throughout the United States. McGuire Institute network members will be among the faculty for the Intensive Seminar. The fellowship is intentionally a living educational experience on a defined floor. Rather than moving through a rigid checklist of simulated experiences, Fellows will become part of the ongoing work of The McGuire Institute. They will participate in active studies, interact with investigators and research teams, attend relevant institute meetings, and see decisions being made in real time.
“I’m proud to create this new program,” said Dr. McGuire, “and to forge a pathway for established private-practice periodontists to learn how they can participate in advancing clinical research and ultimately improve patient care. For too long, talented clinicians interested in research have often perceived a false choice, remain in academics if they want to contribute meaningfully to science, or enter private practice and leave serious research behind. The McGuire Institute exists in part to demonstrate that this is a false dichotomy. A clinician can build a successful private practice, care for patients at the highest level, and conduct rigorous, consequential research. Practice-based research is not a lesser alternative to academic science; it is a complimentary pathway that can answer important questions in the real-world setting where most patients receive care.”
“Having the AAP Foundation and McGuire Institute collaborate on this program is a perfect melding of complementary strengths,” commented Dr. Richardson, who is himself an iMc Network member. “It also complements the Foundation’s existing portfolio of awards with an initiative designed specifically to benefit private practitioners, who represent most AAP members. I’m proud to have this exciting new program be founded during my tenure as the Foundation’s president and look forward to seeing it fill the significant need for more practice-based research that can move scientific discovery toward clinical application. Along with the Levi-Richman Integration Initiative and recently announced Lynch Translational Science Scholarship, it reflects a new focus for the AAP Foundation in catalyzing research, advancing clinical care, and improving patient outcomes.”
“We receive inquiries from talented periodontists wanting to know how they can participate in clinical research nearly every week,” said McGuire Institute CEO Tom Rogers. “This program will provide them with that knowledge and enable them to make informed decisions about implementing such programs. Success is not measured by how many Fellows remain within The McGuire Institute. Graduates may ultimately lead in private practice, academia, organized dentistry, industry, research, education, technology, entrepreneurship, public service, or paths that do not yet exist.”
The inaugural Intensive Seminar on Practice-Based Clinical Research will be held in the Summer of 2027. An organizing committee has been convened to design the curriculum for the program and to lead fundraising efforts. As with all AAP Foundation programs, Intensive Seminar participants and McGuire Fellows will be chosen by a Selection Committee appointed by the AAP Foundation president.
McGuire Program for Clinician Scientists Organizing Committee
- Jeanne Ambruster
- Gazelle Crasto, DDS, MS, PhD
- Gene Dorff
- Irina Dragan, DDS, DMD, MS, eMBA
- William Giannobile, DDS, MS, DMSc
- Jessica Latimer, DDS, DMSc
- Pamela McClain, DDS
- Michael McGuire, DDS, FICD, FACD
- Christopher R. Richardson, DMD, MS
- Tom Rogers
- Todd Scheyer, DDS, MS
- Diego Velasquez, DDS, MSD
McGuire Program for Clinician Scientists to Provide Training in Practice-Based Research
In 2027 the American Academy of Periodontology Foundation will create a new pathway for established periodontists to implement high-level research programs in their private practice environments. The McGuire Program for Clinician Scientists will begin with an intensive seminar: a two-and-a-half-day immersion and principal entry point into the clinician-scientist development pathway. Its purpose is not to make someone a researcher in two days, but to answer a more fundamental question: What does excellent practice-based research really look like and how can it be successfully accomplished in the midst of a busy private practice? Seminar participants will then have the option to apply for a second stage of training, the McGuire Fellowship for Clinician Scientists, a defined, year-long pathway designed to develop practicing periodontists into thoughtful clinician scientists, investigators, collaborative leaders, mentors, and lifelong stewards of evidence-based practice.
Startup funding for the program has been provided by a major gift from the Michael K. McGuire Family, with additional funding by current Foundation President Dr. Christopher Richardson and two of Dr. McGuire’s patients. These gifts have made it possible for the Foundation to commit to the program for at least three years; further extension will depend on the results of fundraising, with the goal being to raise a permanently restricted $1 million fund that will endow the program in perpetuity.
McGuire is the founder of the McGuire Institute (iMc), a network of master clinicians trained and qualified to conduct high level clinical research in a practice-based setting and located strategically throughout the United States. McGuire Institute network members will be among the faculty for the Intensive Seminar. The fellowship is intentionally a living educational experience on a defined floor. Rather than moving through a rigid checklist of simulated experiences, Fellows will become part of the ongoing work of The McGuire Institute. They will participate in active studies, interact with investigators and research teams, attend relevant institute meetings, and see decisions being made in real time.
“I’m proud to create this new program,” said Dr. McGuire, “and to forge a pathway for established private-practice periodontists to learn how they can participate in advancing clinical research and ultimately improve patient care. For too long, talented clinicians interested in research have often perceived a false choice, remain in academics if they want to contribute meaningfully to science, or enter private practice and leave serious research behind. The McGuire Institute exists in part to demonstrate that this is a false dichotomy. A clinician can build a successful private practice, care for patients at the highest level, and conduct rigorous, consequential research. Practice-based research is not a lesser alternative to academic science; it is a complimentary pathway that can answer important questions in the real-world setting where most patients receive care.”
“Having the AAP Foundation and McGuire Institute collaborate on this program is a perfect melding of complementary strengths,” commented Dr. Richardson, who is himself an iMc Network member. “It also complements the Foundation’s existing portfolio of awards with an initiative designed specifically to benefit private practitioners, who represent most AAP members. I’m proud to have this exciting new program be founded during my tenure as the Foundation’s president and look forward to seeing it fill the significant need for more practice-based research that can move scientific discovery toward clinical application. Along with the Levi-Richman Integration Initiative and recently announced Lynch Translational Science Scholarship, it reflects a new focus for the AAP Foundation in catalyzing research, advancing clinical care, and improving patient outcomes.”
“We receive inquiries from talented periodontists wanting to know how they can participate in clinical research nearly every week,” said McGuire Institute CEO Tom Rogers. “This program will provide them with that knowledge and enable them to make informed decisions about implementing such programs. Success is not measured by how many Fellows remain within The McGuire Institute. Graduates may ultimately lead in private practice, academia, organized dentistry, industry, research, education, technology, entrepreneurship, public service, or paths that do not yet exist.”
The inaugural Intensive Seminar on Practice-Based Clinical Research will be held in the Summer of 2027. An organizing committee has been convened to design the curriculum for the program and to lead fundraising efforts. As with all AAP Foundation programs, Intensive Seminar participants and McGuire Fellows will be chosen by a Selection Committee appointed by the AAP Foundation president.
McGuire Program for Clinician Scientists Organizing Committee
- Jeanne Ambruster
- Gazelle Crasto, DDS, MS, PhD
- Gene Dorff
- Irina Dragan, DDS, DMD, MS, eMBA
- William Giannobile, DDS, MS, DMSc
- Jessica Latimer, DDS, DMSc
- Pamela McClain, DDS
- Michael McGuire, DDS, FICD, FACD
- Christopher R. Richardson, DMD, MS
- Tom Rogers
- Todd Scheyer, DDS, MS
- Diego Velasquez, DDS, MSD