Dr. Sunil Kapila BDS, MS, PhD

Dr. Sunil Kapila is Professor and Dr. Thomas R. Bales Endowed Chair of Orthodontics at University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), where he also serves as the Associate Dean for Strategic Initiatives and Operations. He obtained his dental degree at the University of Nairobi, Kenya, an MS in orthodontics at University of Oklahoma as a Fulbright-Hayes Scholar, and a PhD in Oral Biology from University of California San Francisco. Dr. Kapila is a Diplomate of the American Board of Orthodontics. Dr. Kapila has received several research and clinical awards including the American Association for Dental Research’s Hatton Award, the American Association of Orthodontist’s (AAO) Milo Hellman Award, the B.F. Dewel Honorary Research Award and the Burstone Fellowship from the AAO Foundation and the Excellence in Education Award from the World Federation of Orthodontists. He served as the inaugural chair of AAO’s Special Committee on Engagement and Inclusion (SCIE) and has previously served on AAO’s Council for Scientific Affairs and Chair of AAOF’s Planning and Awards Review Committee (PARC). He has also been recognized for his contributions to orthodontics through the awarding of the prestigious AAO Jacob A. Salzmann Lectureship in 2013 and Edward H. Angle Award Lectureship in 2022. Dr. Kapila’s NIH-funded research focuses on the hormonal basis for TMJ degeneration and multi-omics of temporomandibular disorders. Besides authoring over 150 original manuscripts, chapters and proceedings, he has published two textbooks “Current Therapy in Orthodontics” and “Cone Beam Computed Tomography in Orthodontics.