Three Queen Mary Professors receive accolades for their research and innovations in dentistry.
Professors Ferranti Wong, Nikolaos Donos and Robert Hill have all received awards for their distinguished work in dentistry over the past year.
Professors Robert Hill, Nikolaos Donos and Ferranti Wong (L-R)
Ferranti Wong, Professor of Paediatric Dentistry in Queen Mary's Institute of Dentistry, has been elected as the President of the European Academy of Paediatric Dentistry (EAPD) and will be in post for the next two years.
Professor Wong has broad research interests which include caries research, biomaterials, and dental trauma. Alongside his academic work, he is an Honorary Clinical Consultant at Barts Health NHS Trust. He teaches both undergraduate and postgraduate students covering most topics in paediatric dentistry.
The European Academy of Paediatric Dentistry is an organization of individuals whose primary concern is in the area(s) of practice, education and/or research specifically related to the specialty of Paediatric Dentistry. It purpose is the advancement of the specialty of Paediatric Dentistry for the benefit of the oral health of children.
Nikolaos Donos, Professor and Chair of Periodontology and Implant Dentistry, Director of Research, Director of the Centre for Oral Clinical Research and Director of Research at the Institute of Dentistry, has received two awards: the EFP Distinguished Scientist Award by the European Federation of Periodontology, and the IADR Distinguished Scientist in Research in Periodontal Disease Award, the highest award in the field of periodontology. The latter award was presented at the International Association for Dental, Oral and Craniofacial Research (IADR). These are in recognition of his exceptional achievements and commitment to the field of periodontology.
Professor Donos has research interests spanning systematic reviews leading to treatment guidelines, translational research, experimental medicine studies as well as randomized controlled clinical trials in the area of wound healing, soft and hard tissue regeneration, implant dentistry, and periodontal medicine.
Robert Hill, Professor of Physical Sciences in Relation to Dentistry, has been awarded the Chapman Medal by the Institute of Materials, Minerals, and Mining. This prestigious award was presented to him for his distinguished research and innovation in the field of biomedical materials.
Robert Hill has published over 300 scientific papers and has 25 patents. His research has included a bone cement used for cochlear implants, which has reduced the risks of the device failing to bond (requiring a second operation), and degradable bioactive glasses used in toothpastes for treating dentine hypersensitivity. Professor Hill and Dr David Gillam have created a toothpaste, BioMinF, using this technology that is sold in many countries around the world, and which was featured on the BBC 4 television program in the “How to make series” in 2022. This development was featured in one of our Research Highway videos.
More recently, Professor Hill has filed a patent for ceramics that can be machined without diamond tipped tooling, allowing dental crowns to be produced in under 10 minutes.
Robert Hill is also a former winner of the Armourers and Brasiers Venture Prize, the Alan Wilson Prize, and is the only UK winner of the Varshneya Award of the American Ceramic Society for “Glass Science with Impact”.