Our aim is to develop innovative approaches and new technologies to solve common oral health problems. To do this we bring clinical and scientific researchers from across the University to work with students and dental practitioners, under the auspices of the recently established Oral Health Research Centre.
Our long-standing connections with organisations such as the World Health Organization, home and overseas governments, the National Institute for Health Research, patient welfare groups and industry partners enable our work to influence policy and improve the dental health and treatment of patients. The quality of our work is reflected in the fact that we have more IADR ‘Distinguished Scientist’ awards per capita than any other dental school, and in the Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) 2008, 60 per cent of our work was classed as ‘internationally excellent’ or ‘world leading’ with 15 per cent classed as ‘world leading’.
As a student on one of our taught programmes or research degrees, you will contribute to our work, benefitting from our excellent facilities and networks, including one of the largest integrated teaching hospital complexes in the UK. Research students are based in the Dental School and use the clinical facilities, clinical materials, resources and expertise offered by the School. Students are also registered with a relevant University research institute, which provides additional resources, facilities and staff expertise. A tailored research and professional skills training programme is provided by the Medical Sciences Graduate School.
We welcome informal enquiries from students and professionals who would like to undertake research in any of our current research areas, which include: oral health services research and health economics; oral health and nutritional challenges in the elderly; pathobiology of periodontal disease; genetics of tooth development: oral inflammatory disease and diabetes; cellular mechanisms within gut and oral bacteria; and biomaterials surface science.
We receive funding from UK research councils and industry for PhD and MRes/PhD studentships and these opportunities can be found on the University's funding database when they become available.
Students on our taught programmes have access to state-of- the-art clinical and teaching facilities. Modules and projects are linked into our research strengths, ensuring that research developments are shared with you and become part of clinical practice. Relevant journals and books are available in the Walton Library, the University’s specialist library for medicine, dentistry and biomedical subjects.