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Scholarships

Lynch Translational Science Scholarship

One $30,000 scholarship is awarded annually, to be used exclusively for tuition and fees to pursue an advanced degree in translational science at a U.S. university.

The award is not to be used to replace support that would have normally been provided by the recipient’s institution. Eligible programs include Master’s, Doctorate of Medical Sciences, or PhD programs, or other advanced clinical degree programs with emphasis on advancing applied research toward FDA approval or towards a new clinical use of an already FDA approved technology.

Sam and Leslie Lynch
June 1
Application deadline
2027
Founded
About the award

Eligibility

Eligibility is restricted to applicants with doctoral-level degrees in dentistry, medicine, biological sciences, or other health-related fields, during or within five years of completing their residency programs or at an equivalent stage of training for their discipline.
Applicants must have already applied for one or more advanced degree program in translational science at the doctoral or master’s level at the time of application and must be admitted to at least one such program at the time of the committee’s review of applications. Preference will be given first to periodontists and second to other dental and medical specialists. Immediate family members of the Foundation Board of Directors, officers, and selection committee members are not eligible to apply.

Additional program details

Funds are disbursed in two payments of $15,000 in February of each of the two years following awarding of the scholarship, contingent upon the student remaining enrolled at that time.
Donor

Sam Lynch

Sam Lynch

The AAP Foundation is grateful to Drs. Sam and Leslie Lynch for the transformative gift that made this award possible.

The Lynch Translational Science Scholarship was created by Sam and Lesie Lynch, DMD, DMSc. Drs. Lynch are accomplished translational scientists and entrepreneurs who graduated from the dual degree program at Harvard Medical and Dental Schools with a DMSc and specialty certification in periodontology and served as a member of the faculty until transitioning to the industry. Dr. Sam Lynch has founded and led several biomedical companies including Lynch Regenerative Medicine, LLC, and invented and/or played a key role in the development of many of the leading regenerative brands in dentistry. He was a founding member of the governing board of Vanderbilt University Medical Center, with approximately $10 billion in annual revenues and 30,000 employees, and he and Dr. Leslie are co-founders of the BioTN Foundation, a nonprofit foundation started in 2007 to promote k-12 STEM education. He is the author of more than 250 publications and patents, mostly in the regenerative medicine fields, as well as the editor of two books on tissue engineering.

Sam Lynch
“My training was enabled by scholarships that I received to pursue the dual-degree program at Harvard, and I am delighted to be able to extend similar opportunities to up-and-coming young periodontists and other dental and medical innovators who will translate today’s discoveries into tomorrow’s treatments.”
Sam Lynch
Lynch Translational Science Scholarship
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    Application & selection procedure

    Application deadline

    June 1

    Selection

    Each applicant should submit a copy of their most recent CV and a 750-word maximum personal statement addressing why they wish to pursue advanced training in translational science following completion of (or overlapping with) their clinical training. The recipient is selected by an award committee appointed by the AAP Foundation president.

    This award’s selection committee

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