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Alana is an experienced physiotherapist, researcher and lecturer at The University of Queensland. She has a strong clinical background in private practice physiotherapy, with a particular interest in the physiotherapy management of temporomandibular disorders. Alana is a guest member of the Australian and New Zealand Academy of Orofacial Pain, and is an active member of the Neck and Head Research Unit (NAHRU), Professional Education Research Engagement Theme and Knowledge Translation Research Engagement Theme at The University of Queensland. Alana's PhD explored disability associated with persistent intra-articular temporomandibular disorders in adults. She has achieved numerous high-quality research outputs and has an increasing national and international research profile in the areas of temporomandibular disorders and clinical education. Alana is experienced across a variety of research methodologies and paradigms, including qualitative and quantitative approaches, with a keen interest in knowledge translation across intra-professional, inter-professional, academic and industry settings.

Professor Loc Do is a dentist and an oral epidemiologist with special interest in social and clinical oral epidemiology. He completed his PhD in Oral Epidemiology at the University of Adelaide. He was a lead investigator in the National Child Oral Health Study 2012-14 and the National Study of Adult Oral Health 2017-19.

Loc is currently Director of Research at the School of Dentistry, University of Queensland.

Research funding: Currently, he is the Chief Investigator A of four major NHMRC- and MRFF-funded research projects: a population-based birth cohort study investigating impact of socioeconomic inequality on child oral health, a longitudinal study investigating effect of early life exposure to fluoride, a study to investigate effectiveness of water fluoridation in Queensland, and a study to develop and implement a package to improve oral health in residents of Aged Care Facilities in Queensland and NSW.

Qualifications: BDS, MScDent, PhD

Research Interests: Oral epidemiological measurement of dental diseases Quantitative analysis of oral epidemiological data including multilevel analysis Risk and benefit trade-off in the use of fluorides in children Natural history of dental fluorosis Socio-economic inequality in oral health Oral health-related quality of life Smoking as a risk factor for periodontal diseases Effectiveness and safety of water fluoridation in children Complex systems science in dental research.

Awards and Honours: In 2022, Loc is the recipient of the International Association for Dental Research (IADR) Distinguished Scientist H Trendley Dean Award 2022. In 2023, his paper in Journal of Dental Research was awarded the IADR Abrey Sheiham Award for Distringuished Research in Dental Public Health.

Pauline Ford is Deputy Provost at The University of Queensland. She was previously Head, School of Dentistry, becoming the first woman to lead a School of Dentistry in the Australia New Zealand region. Pauline graduated from The University of Queensland in 1989 with BDSc (Hons) (University Medal). After nine years in general dental practice, she returned to UQ and undertook a PhD before joining the academic staff in 2005. She has since completed a Graduate Certificate in Higher Education and a Masters in Public Health.

Dr Karan Gulati is a Research Group Leader and the Deputy Director of Research at the School of Dentistry, UQ. He is also the Deputy Director of Centre for Orofacial Regeneration, Reconstruction and Rehabilitation (COR3) at UQ Dentistry.

Dr Gulati is a pioneer in electrochemically nano-engineered dental implants with over 13 years of extensive research experience using nano-engineering towards various bioactive and therapeutic applications. Dr Gulati completed his PhD from the University of Adelaide (Australia) in 2015 and was awarded the Dean’s Commendation for Doctoral Thesis Excellence. His career has been supported by prestigious fellowships from NHMRC (National Health and Medical Research Council, Australia), JSPS (Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Japan), Erasmus+ (Germany) and the University of Queensland. At 8 years post-PhD, Dr Gulati has edited 3 books, published 7 chapters and >72 publications (h-index 35), and presented >110 times in various reputed conferences.

Completed specialist training in Endodontics in 2021 at the University of Adelaide and South Australian Dental Services. The DClinDent program included 9 articles in peer-reviewed journals, 1 article currently in press and one book chapter.

Completed a PhD which included 11 articles in peer-reviewed journals.

Completed the JBI Comprehensive systematic review training program.

Recipient of multiple research and travel grants.

Awarded a Fellow of the Pierre Fauchard Academy – an international dental association that recognizes and supports leaders of the dental profession.

Active researcher actively presenting research findings, locally and internationally, at scientific meetings as well as publishing multiple scientific articles.

Active contributor to dental teaching, research and philanthropy.

Committee member for the International Association of Dental Traumatology

Dr Pingping Han is currently leading the Epigenetic Nanodiagnostics and Therapeutics Group within the Centre for Orofacial Regeneration, Reconstruction and Rehabilitation (COR3), at the UQ School of Dentistry. Dr Han received her PhD in Biomedical Engineering from the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) in 2014. Dr Han's current research focuses on three themes: a) salivary diagnostics for periodontal disease, b) “cell-free” regenerative therapy for periodontal tissue engineering and c) cellular nano-mechanics on different modified biomaterial substrates.

Dr. Ove A. Peters joined the University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia, in 2020 after faculty positions in Heidelberg, Germany and Zurich, Switzerland, as well as at the University of California, San Francisco. Most recently, he was the founding director of the postgraduate endodontic program at the Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry in San Francisco, a professor with tenure and the Chair of the Department of Endodontics at that school.

Dr. Peters has wide-ranging clinical and research expertise and has published more than 200 manuscripts related to endodontic technology and biology. He has authored two books and contributed to several leading textbooks in dentistry; he also is an associate editor for the International Endodontic Journal as well as the Australian Endodontic Journal, an academic editor for PLOS One and serves on the review panel of multiple other journals. Among others awards, Dr Peters has received the Hans Genet Award of the European Society of Endodontology and more recently the Louis I. Grossman Award of the American Association of Endodontists. He is a Diplomate of the ABE, a member of OKU and a Fellow of the International and American Colleges of Dentistry.

Dr. Helena Schuch is a senior research fellow at the School of Dentistry, University of Queensland.

She is a dentist and an oral epidemiologist with special interest in social epidemiology. Helena is also interested in methods to estimate causal inference and on applying machine learning techniques to predict oral health outcomes.

She completed her PhD in Oral Epidemiology at the University of Adelaide (2018) and is currently in the Editorial Board of Community Dentistry and Oral Epidemiology.

Qualifications: BDS, MScDent, PhD

Research Interests: Oral health inequalities. Life course epidemiology. Causal inference methods. Machine learning applied to oral health.

Dr Nicole Stormon is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Queensland and AHPRA registered Oral health therapist. The current and inaugural Program Convenor for the School of Dentistry’s Doctor of Dental Medicine. She is also the Principal Research Fellow for Queensland Health Metro North Community and Oral Health. An alumnus of the University of Queensland for her undergraduate and postgraduate training, Nicole has become an internationally recognised leader and advocate in Oral Health Therapy.

Nicole Stormon has publications in high quality journals, numerous conference presentation and research collaborations. Health service research is a central theme of her research, with ongoing collaborations with Queensland Health to develop evidence-based and cost-effective models of dental care. She has extensive experience in the analysis of complex quantitative health service data and large longitudinal cohort studies. Additionally, Nicole is experienced in relevant health services research methods including qualitative, scoping methods and consumer engagement. Translating evidence into practice can be challenging, however her research aims to implement innovations and generate new knowledge to better patients oral health outcomes. Being a clinician herself and her effective collaborations to the health service are key to bridging the knowledge-implementation gap.

Nicole Stormon represents the oral health workforce and applies expertise, leadership and governance skills. As an advocate for oral health, she has consulted on a number of national oral health policy issues. Called as an expert witness into the Aged Care Royal Commission into oral health. She has contributed to countless written submissions and representations on national and local advocacy and policy matters. As a leader and advocate for her profession, saw through the recognition and implementation of oral health professionals in obtaining provider numbers and claiming within the Child Dental Benefits Schedule. She has contributed to ongoing public policy issues and has published evaluations of the federal funding policy the Child Dental Benefits.

Emeritius Professor Laurence J. Walsh AO is a registered specialist in special needs dentistry.

Laurence received his undergraduate education in dentistry at The University of Queensland and then undertook a PhD in immunopathology. He started his postdoctoral education at the University of Pennsylvania Medical School, and undertook his executive education at the Stanford University Graduate School of Management and at Harvard University.

His research interests are in advanced technologies such as lasers and biomaterials, and in dental microbiology. Laurence was Professor of Dental Science and the research grouip leader for advanced materials and technologies in the UQ School of Dentistry from January 2000 until his retirement in December 2020. During his retirement he remains active in hands-on research work and in supervision of research students.

Dr Yinghong Zhou leads the ImmunoEngineering for Regenerative Dentistry research team at the School of Dentistry. Her research interests extend across several transdisciplinary research projects, all with the central theme of biomedical engineering and bone/periodontal tissue regeneration. Her high-quality research leads the field in (a) hypoxia-mimicking bioscaffolds for bone regeneration (field-weighted citation impact=13.15), (b) trace element-mediated biomineralization (recognised by the Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine International Society (TERMIS) Young Investigator Award, given only to two emerging researchers in the whole Asia-Pacific region in 2021), and (c) immunoengineering approaches for periodontal regeneration (introduced into the tertiary learning sector as the world-first Master of Philosophy (Materiobiology) Program at QUT). Dr Zhou has been awarded prestigious fellowships including the Endeavour Research Fellowship (2017), NHMRC Early Career Fellowship (2016-2020), and the BridgeTech Industry Fellowship (2021).