Executive Committee

AAOM's Executive Committee is made up of its elected officers and two most recent past presidents. The Executive Committee takes charge of the general decision-making necessary to run the programs of the Academy on a day-to-day basis. The E.C. is responsible for implementing the Academy's strategic plan and for executing the will of the Board of Trustees.

Dr. Vidya Sankar, President 

Dr. Sankar is an associate surgeon at the Division of Oral Medicine Clinic and Dentistry at Brigham and Women's Hospital. She is a diplomate of the American Board of Oral Medicine. She received her DMD from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, earned her Certificate in Oral Medicine from the National Institutes of Health (NIH)/ National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR), Bethesda, Maryland, received her Masters in Health Science degree from Duke University and is a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh.

Dr. Kentaro Ikeda, President-Elect 

Dr. Ikeda is an associate surgeon in the Division of Oral Medicine and Dentistry at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and serves as the clinical director of the Division. He is a diplomate of the American Board of Oral Medicine. He received his DDS from Tokyo Dental College, his Certificate in Pediatric Dentistry from the Kanagawa Children’s Medical Center, his Certificates in GPR and Oral Medicine from the Carolinas Medical Center, and his Master of Public Health from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Dr. Ikeda is a diplomat of the American Board of Oral Medicine and holds Fellowship in the Royal College of Surgeons at Edinburgh. He maintains an Oral Medicine practice at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. His clinical and research interests are the management of oral mucosal diseases, orofacial pain, pediatric Oral Medicine, oral manifestations of systemic diseases, drug-induced oral complications, and oral care for oncology patients.

Dr. Jaisri Thoppay, Vice-President 

Dr. Thoppay is a highly accomplished professional with a diverse range of expertise in the field of healthcare consulting, and Oral Health. She currently holds the position of President at the Center for Integrative Oral Health Inc, where she focuses on promoting integrative approaches to oral health. Dr. Thoppay maintains a private practice that focuses on Oral Medicine, Orofacial pain management, and the care of medically complex patients. Dr. Thoppay obtained her dental degree and MBA from India, demonstrating her commitment to both clinical and business aspects of healthcare. She furthered her education by completing a Master of Oral Biology at Augusta University in Augusta, GA. To specialize in her field, she pursued an Oral Medicine residency and an Interdisciplinary Geriatric fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, PA. Dr. Thoppay also expanded her knowledge through an Interprofessional Geriatric Fellowship at the Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, VA. From 2015 to 2019, Dr. Thoppay served as a faculty member and the Director of Oral Medicine, Orofacial Pain, and Geriatric clinic at the School of Dentistry at the Virginia Commonwealth University. During this time, she actively contributed to the field through her clinical work, research projects, and educational initiatives. Apart from her academic and clinical pursuits, her dedication to oral health extends beyond her practice, as she volunteers for oral medicine clinical outreach, advocates for oral diseases and oral cancer awareness, and actively participates in patient focus groups both online and in-person. She had served for Oral Medicine Section as Associate Editor of OOOO journal (Oral Surgery Oral Medicine Oral Pathology Oral Radiology).  

Additionally, she serves as the President at Nenotics LLC, a healthcare and business consulting firm. Dr. Thoppay's expertise also extends to healthcare executive consultation services. She provides program management consultation to integrate clinical domain knowledge with program management skillsets. Her areas of expertise include New Product Introduction and Design, Project and Workflow Analytics, Operations and Process Management in the healthcare industry, and Clinical Application knowledge in Lean, Six Sigma, Agile, Systems, and Business Process Re-engineering. Additionally, she possesses knowledge and experience in machine learning, AI applications, and big data analytic tools, further contributing to the advancement of healthcare practices. Overall, Dr. Thoppay's extensive experience, commitment to patient care, and dedication to advancing the field of oral health make her a highly respected professional in the healthcare industry.

Dr. Allessandro Villa, Secretary

Dr. Villa is the chief of the Sol Silverman Oral Medicine Clinic at UCSF and the Director of Oral Oncology. Dr. Villa obtained his dental degree and PhD from Italy and his Master of Public Health from AT Still University, MO. He then completed his oral medicine residency training at Harvard University/Brigham and Women’s Hospital and a postdoctoral fellowship at the National Cancer Institute. Dr. Villa's research interests include the pathobiology of oral complications from cancer treatment therapeutic strategies for oral leukoplakia. In addition, Dr. Villa is working to reduce the burden of HPV-associated oropharyngeal cancers. He serves on the editorial board of several oral medicine journals, including Oral Diseases.

Dr. Sunday Akintoye, Treasurer

Dr. Akintoye is a clinician-scientist with interest in basic and translational research related to alleviating orofacial complications of cancer therapy. His research is focused on orofacial bone mesenchymal stem cells, site-specific characteristics and therapeutic applications as donor graft to bridge osseous defects in the maxillofacial region. His laboratory reported that human orofacial mesenchymal stem cells within the jaw bone are unique and different from those in non-oral skeletal sites in terms of their growth, lifespan, and bone regenerative properties. He is studying the modulatory roles of orofacial bone mesenchymal stem cells in the pathogenesis of jaw osteonecrosis and how their unique properties can be harnessed for oral bone healing.

Dr. Akintoye is also interested in dental manifestations of metabolic bone diseases. He has focused on fibrous dysplasia and described the dental features of maxillo-mandibular fibrous dysplasia associated with McCune-Albright syndrome. Dr. Akintoye’s research has received funding support from the National Institutes of Health’s National Cancer Institute, National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, and National Institute of Aging. He has also been funded by American Cancer Society, University of Pennsylvania Research Foundation, Penn Center for Musculoskeletal Disorders, Penn Institute for Regenerative Medicine, and Private Foundations. Dr. Akintoye’s research was featured in the 2014 “Grantee Spotlight” of the National Cancer Institute/Center to Reduce Cancer Health Disparities and in the December 2015 e-Newsletter of the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research/National Institutes of Health. Dr. Akintoye teaches in the Oral Medicine Clinic and in the graduate programs of the Division of Advanced Dental Education. He was a Fulbright Scholar to University of Lagos in 2015/2016.

Dr. Arwa Farag,  Assistant Treasurer

Dr. Arwa Farag is an Assistant Professor and a Consultant of Oral Medicine, Orofacial Pain, and Dental Sleep Medicine at the Department of Oral Diagnostic Sciences, Faculty of Dentistry, King AbdulAziz University, Jeddah Saudi Arabia (FDKAU). She is also an assistant professor at the Department of Diagnostic Sciences, Tufts University School of Dental Medicine (TSDM), Boston, MA, USADr. Farag graduated from King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. She completed her residency training in oral medicine at the Brigham and Women's Hospital and earned her Doctor of Medical Science Degree (DMSc) from Harvard School of Dental Medicine. She also completed her fellowship in TMD/orofacial pain at TUSDM. Dr. Farag is a Diplomat of the American Board of Oral Medicine, a Diplomat of the American Board of Orofacial Pain, and a Fellow of The Royal College of Surgeon of Edinburgh. Dr. Farag is an active member and participants of the American Academy of Oral Medicine, the European Association of Oral Medicine, the American Academy of Orofacial Pain, the American Association of Dental Research, and the International Association of Dental Research. She is currently serving as a chair for the Scientific Sessions Committee of the American Academy of Oral Medicine and a steering member of the World Workshop on Oral Medicine. She is an active reviewer in a number of high impact dental journals including Oral Diseases, BMJ, Quad O, and JADA .Dr. Farag continues to support scholars with research interest in the detection and management of dry mouth/Sjogren syndrome, burning mouth syndrome, as well as investigating potentially inappropriate medications in geriatric population. Her clinical interest focuses on management of oral manifestation of systemic diseases, oral complication of cancer therapy, and treatment of chronic orofacial pain conditions.

Dr. Herve Y. Sroussi, Assistant Secretary  

Dr. Sroussi is an associate surgeon and the Director for Research in the Division of Oral Medicine and Dentistry at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. He is an associate professor in the  Department of Oral Medicine, Infection and Immunity, Harvard School of Dental Medicine. He is a diplomate of the American Board of Oral Medicine.Dr. Sroussi earned his dental degree from The Hebrew University-Hadassah School of Dental Medicine and completed an oral medicine residency and a Ph.D. in Oral Biology at the University of California, San Francisco, School of Dentistry (UCSF).

Dr. Nathaniel Treister,  Immediate Past-President

Dr. Treister is Chief of the Divisions of Oral Medicine and Dentistry at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, Massachusetts. Dr. Treister earned his DMD from the University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine and subsequently completed his Oral Medicine certificate and Oral Biology doctoral training at the Harvard School of Dental Medicine, where he is an Assistant Professor of Oral Medicine in the Department of Oral Medicine, Infection and Immunity. He is board certified in Oral Medicine and practices at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute with special interest in oral mucosal diseases, salivary gland diseases, and oral complications in cancer patients. He has published extensively in the field of oral medicine with an emphasis on oral complications of hematopoietic cell transplantation and chronic graft-versus-host disease. He currently serves as Study Chair for Children’s Oncology Group study ACCL1031 entitled “A Randomized Double Blinded Trial of Topical Caphosol to Prevent Oral Mucositis in Children Undergoing Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation”, and as site Principal Investigator for ORARAD, an NIDCR sponsored study investigating the late effects of head and neck radiation therapy on oral health outcomes.

 Dr. Andres Pinto, Past-President

 Dr. Pinto is founding Chair and Professor of Oral and Maxillofacial  Medicine in the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Medicine and Diagnostic Sciences at Case Western Reserve University, School of Dental Medicine in Cleveland, Ohio. In addition, he is an attending staff in the Department of Surgery, Divisions of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery and Pediatric Dentistry at University Hospitals Case Medical Center and Rainbow Babies and Children’s  Hospital, and the director of the Oral Medicine Fellowship program and the MScD in Oral Medicine graduate program. He received his DMD, MPH, MSCE, certificate in Clinical Research, and certificate in Oral Medicine, from the University of Pennsylvania, School of Dental Medicine and School of Medicine. Dr. Pinto is a diplomate of the American Board of Oral Medicine and the European Association of Oral Medicine, and holds a FDS from the Royal College of Surgeons (Edinburgh). He was a member of the faculty and director of Oral Medicine Services at the University of Pennsylvania for 13 years, and during 2011–2013 he was the Chief of the Division of Community Oral Health at Penn. He has published extensively and is a coauthor of several major texts in Oral Medicine, like Burket’s Oral Medicine, Dental Clinical Advisor, and Curbside Consultation in Pediatrics. He is co-editor of Risk Assessment and Oral Diagnostics in Clinical Dentistry, a popular reference book for dental students and residents in General Practice and Oral Medicine training. He maintains a busy referral practice in Oral Medicine and Orofacial Pain at UH Case Medical Center. His clinical interests are the management of oral mucosal disease, oral oncology, pediatric oral medicine, and orofacial pain. He has been funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, HRSA, and is a co-investigator in several NIH and industry funded trials.