Research
Introduction
Facilities
Research Groups
Research Degrees
Summary
Introduction
The Institute of Dentistry has a long and proud record in the delivery of internationally recognised research in oral and dental sciences. It combines a strong tradition of clinical, epidemiological and public health research in dentistry with a solid basic science research base which brings together a range of multi-disciplinary teams with complementary skills from clinical science, cell and molecular biology, microbiology, material science and biophysics. The diversity and consistent strength of this research has over many years been successful in attracting major research funding from UK Research Councils, Medical Charities, the NHS and with a wide range of commercial partners and sponsors.
The ethos of the Institute of Dentistry is strongly in line with the rest of Queen Mary University of London as being a research-led Institute. We believe the success and the vibrancy of the Institute of Dentistry relies on its strong research base, which feeds into all our educational activities, and which has cemented our strong collaborative links with partners throughout the Medical School, the rest of the College, and externally.
Facilities
The Institute is lucky to have an array of superb modern research facilities which any Dental School would be proud of. Within the Dental Institute building we have excellent clinical facilities where, with our colleagues from Barts and The London NHS Trust, we are able to carry out clinical research projects to the highest standards. We have a long track record in the conduct of dental clinical trials and meeting the highest ethical and governance standards for the conduct of these studies. The Centre for Oral Biometrics on the top 2 floors of the Dental Institute is a modern multi-disciplinary facility completely refurbished and equipped in 2001 to provide state of the art facilities in biological measurement relating to dentistry, including laser scanning, 3D assessment and reconstructions, and statistical and other biometric science.
Our major activities in cell and molecular biology, including microbiology, are housed within the magnificent new research facility of the School of Medicine and Dentistry (SMD), The Blizzard Building. This award winning open plan research facility is the home for over 300 biomedical scientists within the SMD and is equipped with all the latest facilities in an inspirational environment. Dental scientists also make full use of other core facilities within the SMD such as the Genome Centre.
Biophysics and Biomaterials are situated in modern laboratories based at the main Mile End campus of QMUL and are co-localised with other relevant college collaborating groups from, eg. the Department of Materials Science, Chemistry and others.
Research Groups
The Institute’s research activities are organised into four thematically linked research groups, namely :
- Immune and Inflammatory Disease
- Caries, Hard Tissue and Materials Research
- Oral Cancer
- Patient and Population Orientated Research
Research degrees
Our policy is that our dental research should always be in the main stream of Biomedical Research, contributing to it and at the same time benefiting from strong interdisciplinary links.
Research students are normally initially registered for an MPhil degree and are required to attend a taught course in their first year. On successfully presenting their first year's research to an academic from outside the Dental School, they are transferred to the PhD.
Overall responsibility for the research degree programme is delegated to the Senior Dental Postgraduate Tutor (Research Students), currently Professor Wagner Marcenes, but day-to-day responsibility rests with the research student's supervisor.
Summary
The Institute of Dentistry is committed to investing in the highest quality research according to its strengths and expertise, for the development of new understanding and treatments of oral and dental disease. Our philosophy within the Institute remains driven by the research challenges of today and the prospects for the future.