Boaz Arzi, DVM, DAVDC, Staff Veterinarian in the Dentistry & Oral Surgery Service at the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine and a collaborator with the Athanasiou Lab, received the Robert Wiggs AVDC Outstanding Candidate Award at the 26th Annual Veterinary Dental Forum annual meeting in Seattle. This is the highest and most prestigious award presented by the American Veterinary Dental College during their early meeting.  The AVDC (American Veterinary Dental College) Robert Wiggs Outstanding Candidate Award is given annually to an individual who has performed exceptionally well in different ways or distinguished him or herself and has passed the board exam and became specialist.

Dr. Arzi received the award for his outstanding residency and research achievements followed by a unique path of performing a post-doc fellowship in Prof. Athanasiou’s tissue engineering lab.  His research areas in biomedical engineering include the temporomandibular joint and bone and cartilage regeneration and engineering. The award also acknowledges Dr. Arzi’s involvement with several NIH funded studies,  a unique and rare achievement in his field of expertise.