Research groups
Research in the School of Clinical Dentistry is organised as a cross-departmental activity in the form of thematic research groups. The School believes that dental science should not be constrained by the traditional boundaries created by the formation of departments with specific clinical disciplines, and that progress will derive from a multidisciplinary approach.
Research within each group combines both laboratory and clinical projects and has extensive collaborations with other groups both nationally and internationally.
Below is a summary of the current research groups in the School of Clinical Dentistry, along with links to their individual web pages.
Jump to individual group sections:
Oral Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering
Dental Public Health
Oral Disease
Oral Neuroscience
This cluster has strong links with other University departments through the Centre for Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering and has a number of jointly funded PhD studentships. Further links are being forged with other universities in the region through the Yorkshire Biomaterials Network, as are links with local industries through MEDILINK. The cluster has strong international links with other institutes in Eire, Portugal, Brazil, Finland and Holland. Institute and industrial links have been strengthened with the award of major grants from the European Union.
Visit the Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering group web pages
The aim of the group is to plan, conduct and implement high quality research in oral health utilising the theories and empirical traditions of Dental Public Health, Sociology and Psychology with the purposes of improving the oral health of individuals and communities.
The interdisciplinary foundations of Dental Public Health bring the theoretical and methodological traditions of the social sciences to bridge the gap between dental and other fields of research.
Visit the Dental Public Health web pages
The aim of the research within the oral disease cluster is to investigate the molecular and cellular basis of oral diseases and to further improve diagnosis and treatment. Specific areas of research can be divided into the following two major themes:
Infection and disease:
• To study the mechanisms of bacterial and fungal interactions with human cells, the resultant host innate and immune responses and to investigate the potential of therapeutic strategies to treat and detect infections or repair damaged tissue.
• To investigate the physiology of single and mixed species biofilms of oral bacteria associated with periodontal disease.
• To further elucidate genetic markers of susceptibility to periodontal disease and to study the potential of new approaches to treatment and diagnosis in clinical studies.
Oral Cancer:
• To study the molecular and cellular mechanisms of cancer cell invasion including the role of chemokines, integrins and proteases and the regulation of the genes that code for these proteins.
• To identify novel diagnostic markers of disease progression and confirm their potential in studies utilising our extensive banks of clinical material.
Visit the Oral Disease group web pages
The aim of this research group is to develop new methods of managing the distressing pain and sensory disturbances that result from injury or from dental and oral disease. This group pursues a wide range of activities including investigations in the field of oral biology and clinical investigations on our patients. Using the information obtained in the laboratory to guide clinical decisions has led to improved patient care.
View the Oral Neuroscience group web pages
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