International Hands-On Course in Advanced Implantology and Regeneration

• Advanced implant dentistry and clinical decision-making
• Digital and AI-assisted implant planning workflows
• Hard- and soft-tissue regeneration techniques, including sinus floor elevation, socket preservation, tunneling, and shell techniques
• Hands-on surgical training through guided, realistic simulations
• Management of medically complex patients in oral surgery
• Prevention and management of perioperative and postoperative complications

Plus:

• Pre-course virtual live surgery experience to prepare for clinical application
• Expert instruction from Harvard School of Dental Medicine faculty and international leaders
• Immediate, practice-ready skills you can apply in your own clinical setting

Hands-on experience

Practice advanced surgical techniques through guided exercises and realistic simulations, including:

• Sinus floor elevation
• Socket preservation
• Soft-tissue augmentation
• Shell techniques

Samuel Akhondi

Dr. Akhondi earned his DMD from the Medical University of Vienna and completed a postgraduate Master’s degree in Oral Implantology at Goethe University Frankfurt. He is an ITI Fellow and recipient of the André Schroeder Research Prize, the Academy of Osseointegration Research Award, and the Austrian Dental Award.

Following an ITI Scholarship at the Harvard School of Dental Medicine, he served as a research fellow. He maintains a private practice in Vienna focused on periodontology and implant dentistry, serves as director of an ITI Study Club, and is co-founder of Young ITI Austria.

Jürgen Becker

From 1983 to 1997, Dr. Jürgen Becker served in the Department of Oral Surgery and Oral Radiology at the Free University of Berlin/Charité under the leadership of Prof. Dr. P. Reichart. In 1997, he was appointed head and director of the Department of Oral Surgery and Central Admittance at University Hospital, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Germany, a role he held until 2024.

Beyond his clinical and academic leadership, Becker has held prominent roles in international professional organizations. He served as president of the Camlog Foundation in Basel, Switzerland, from 2010 to 2016, followed by service as president of the Oral Reconstruction Foundation from 2016 to 2017.

He has contributed extensively to national policy and guideline development in Germany. From 1994 to 1998 and again from 2004 to 2006, he chaired the working group on “Guidelines for Infection Control in Dentistry” within the Commission for Hospital Hygiene and Infection Prevention at the Robert Koch Institute in Berlin. From 1996 to 2006, he also served on the working group for radiology legislation and guidelines for the German Federal Ministry for the Environment in Bonn.

Giulia Brunello

Dr. Giulia Brunello earned her dental degree with honors from the University of Padova (Italy) in 2011. After completing a one-year course in oral surgery, she pursued a two-year master’s degree in oral implantology at the same institution. In 2016, she received a scholarship from the International Team for Implantology, supporting a one-year research fellowship at Queen Mary University of London. She completed her PhD in mechatronics and product innovation engineering at the University of Padova in March 2020.

In March 2021, Brunello joined the Department of Oral Surgery at Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf as a postdoctoral researcher, where she earned her habilitation and venia legendi in 2024. Since April 2024, she has also held a project-based appointment at Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin.

Brunello serves on the Communication Committee of the European Association for Osseointegration, the Research Submission Committee and Membership and Credentials Committee of the Academy of Osseointegration, and as secretary/treasurer of the Stem Cell Biology Group of the International Association for Dental Research.

She has authored more than 70 publications in peer-reviewed journals and serves as editor-in-chief of Clinical and Experimental Dental Research. She is also an editorial board member of the Journal of Clinical Periodontology. Her research focuses on biomaterials, peri-implantitis, and tissue engineering.

In June 2025, she participated in the first Global Consensus for Clinical Guidelines in implant dentistry for the rehabilitation of the edentulous maxilla.

Petra Gierthmuehlen

Dr. Petra Gierthmuehlen earned her DMD from Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg, Germany, in 2001. She served as an assistant professor in the Department of Prosthodontics at the University of Freiburg from 2001 to 2006 under the leadership of Dr. J.R. Strub and became a board-certified prosthodontist through the German Society of Prosthodontics and Dental Materials (DGPro) in 2005.

From 2006 to 2009, she was a visiting scientist in the Department of Biomaterials and Biomimetics at New York University under the direction of Dr. V.P. Thompson. In 2009, she was appointed associate professor in the Department of Prosthodontics at the University of Freiburg, where she completed advanced postdoctoral academic qualifications in 2011. Since 2016, she has served as professor and chair of the Department of Prosthodontics at Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf.

Reinhard Gruber

Dr. Reinhard Gruber is a leading researcher in regenerative dentistry. He earned his doctorate from the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, and completed a postdoctoral appointment in rheumatology.

In 1999, Gruber joined the Department of Oral Surgery at the Medical University of Vienna, where he later became vice director of the dental curriculum and coordinator of the doctoral program in bone and joint regeneration.

He has held visiting scientist appointments at the Bone Tissue Engineering Center at Carnegie Mellon University and at the University of Michigan School of Dentistry. From 2012 to 2015, he served as head of the Laboratory of Oral Cell Biology at the University of Bern School of Dental Medicine and continues to hold an affiliation there.

In 2014, Gruber was appointed full professor of oral biology at the Medical University of Vienna. He serves as associate editor for Clinical Oral Implants Research and the Journal of Periodontal Research and is a member of several editorial boards. He is also an honorary board member of the Osteology Foundation and serves on the ITI Research Committee.

His research integrates cell biology, preclinical models, and clinical studies to develop therapeutic strategies in regenerative dentistry. 

Ulrike Kuchler

Ulrike Kuchler is an associate professor and senior surgeon in the Department of Oral Surgery at the Medical University of Vienna (University Clinic of Dentistry) and maintains a private practice in Vienna. She holds degrees in both medicine and dentistry.

In 2011, she was awarded an ITI scholarship and conducted clinical and research work at the Department of Oral Surgery and Stomatology at the University of Bern, where she remained for several years. She completed her habilitation in 2015 and was appointed associate professor at the Medical University of Vienna in 2016.

Her teaching focuses on oral surgery and implantology. Her research interests include bone regeneration, systemic risk factors, and the use of new technologies in oral surgery and implantology. She has received several national and international awards in recognition of her scientific contributions.

Kuchler is active in national and international professional organizations. She has been a long-standing contributor to the European Association for Osseointegration, serves as an ITI Study Club coordinator in Austria, and led the Austrian Society for Oral Surgery, Medicine and Radiology (OCMR) from 2018 to 2021. From 2021 to 2023, she participated in the Oral Surgery subgroup of the World Health Organization Focus Group on Artificial Intelligence for Health. She is also a member of the Austrian Dental Society, the Austrian Implant Society, and the Austrian Society of Bone and Mineral Research.

Miha Pirc

Dr. Miha Pirc is a faculty member in the Clinic of Reconstructive Dentistry at the Center of Dental Medicine, University of Zurich. He combines teaching and research with a primary focus on implantology, prosthodontics, and regenerative medicine. He also maintains a private practice as a specialist in implantology, periodontology, and prosthodontics.

Pirc earned his DMD from the University of Ljubljana and completed advanced clinical training in periodontology at the University Medical Center Ljubljana. He was an Osteology Foundation scholar at the University of Zurich. He went on to complete postgraduate training in reconstructive dentistry, including residency training and a master of advanced studies in implantology.

He serves as section editor (clinical concepts) for The International Journal of Prosthodontics and is actively involved in international professional organizations.

Alexandra Rendón

Dr. Alexandra Rendón earned her dental degree and a Master of Science in Periodontology and Implantology from the Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León in Mexico. She continued her postgraduate training at the University of Bologna in Italy, where she completed master’s degrees in Soft Tissue Management Around Teeth and Implants and in Periodontology and Clinical Implantology.

She served as a clinical tutor and lecturer in the postgraduate periodontology programs at the University of Bologna while conducting clinical research in the Department of Periodontology. She later received an ITI Scholarship to pursue research and clinical training at the Harvard School of Dental Medicine, where she currently serves as an invited lecturer in the Department of Oral Medicine, Infection, and Immunity.

Rendón maintains a private practice focused exclusively on periodontics and oral implantology. She has authored several publications in international scientific journals and is a frequent invited speaker at international conferences.

Andrea Schmucker

Dr. Andrea Schmucker earned her dental degree from Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf in 2012 and completed her board certification in oral surgery in 2016. Since 2012, she has been affiliated with the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at University Hospital Düsseldorf.

Schmucker has participated in numerous clinical studies focused on bone augmentation and peri-implantitis and has co-authored several publications in peer-reviewed international journals. She completed the German Association of Oral Implantology (DGI) Curriculum in Implantology in 2014 and 2015.

Her academic work focuses on predoctoral and clinical education, with particular emphasis on hands-on training in implantology and bone augmentation. In recognition of her contributions to teaching, she received the Teaching Award from Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf in 2023.

In 2025, Schmucker completed the postgraduate program in Traditional Ayurvedic Medicine at University of Duisburg-Essen, graduating with distinction.

Her clinical and research interests include bone augmentation, peri-implantitis, periodontitis, and the integration of complementary and integrative approaches in the management of oral diseases and oral manifestations of autoimmune conditions.

Jochen Tunkel

Dr. Jochen Tunkel holds German postgraduate specialty degrees in periodontology and oral surgery, along with a master’s degree in oral medicine in implantology. He is a recognized specialist by the German Society of Implantology (DGI) and the German Society of Periodontology (DGParo), and was named an ITI Fellow in 2018 and an ITI speaker in 2019.

From 2000 to 2003, he completed a three-year postgraduate program in periodontology at the University Clinic Münster. He then pursued a three-year postgraduate program in oral surgery at the dental clinic Schloss Schellenstein from 2004 to 2006. He completed his specialty training in periodontology in 2003 and in oral surgery in 2007, and earned his master’s degree in oral medicine in implantology in 2006.

From 2004 to 2015, he served as a visiting assistant professor in the Department of Periodontology at the University Clinic Münster. Since 2007, he has maintained a private referral practice in implantology, periodontology, and oral surgery in Bad Oeynhausen, Germany. Since 2008, he has served as chair of the Surgical Periodontology Section of the German Society of Oral Surgery.

In 2020, he founded the online learning platform Regenerative Bioversity, focused on regenerative approaches in dentistry. In 2025, he was again recognized as a specialist by the German Society of Implantology.

Viktoria Wolf

Dr. Viktoria Wolf is a board-certified oral surgeon in private practice in Bochum, Germany. Previously, she served at the University Clinic Düsseldorf (UKD), where her work focused on oral surgery and the treatment of oral pathologies. At Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, she contributed to preclinical and clinical teaching, helping train dental students in surgical disciplines.

In her current practice, Wolf focuses on implant dentistry, bone augmentation, and soft tissue management, emphasizing structured, patient-centered care and interdisciplinary collaboration. She earned her dental degree and completed her specialty training in oral surgery at UKD.