Personal Statement
I currently hold the position of Professor and Honorary consultant in Paediatric Dentistry and the Vice Dean for Research and Postgraduate Studies at the School of Dentistry.

I am the research lead for the Oral Health Group. My research focus is on improving the quality of clinical outcome, clinical effectiveness and efficiency, improving patient experience in clinical dental practice with special interest in Dental Trauma and Children's with complex health conditions . I am the Oral Health theme lead for C-Gull (Children growing up in Liverpool) birth cohort. . I am co-investigator on number of NIHR funded clinical trails. I am the Oral & Dental specialty lead for NIHR RDN North West since September 2021.

Clinically, I work both in Liverpool University Dental Hospital at Liverpool and Alder Hey Children’s Hospital, I am intrim co-chair of the specialist Managed Clinical Network of Paediatric Dentistry in the Region which allows me to influence service provisions and delivery of dental care to children across primary, secondary and tertiary care systems.

As part of my leadership roles within the School I continue to lead the Integrated Clinical Academic training which also includes recruitment and career development. This role involves continuous collaborative work with all stakeholders including; NIHR, Health Education England and the hosting clinical placements NHS trusts. I am the clinical lead for the institute of life course and medical sciences and a member of the faculty clinical directorate.

I developed a 3-year Professional Doctorate (Level 8) programme in Paediatric Dentistry currently attracting both home and overseas students. The programme is unique in terms of its strong research emphasis as well as its strong clinical training element. My students’ research collaborations extend beyond dentistry into other areas of medicine and psychology.

Nationally, I was President of the British Society of Paediatric Dentistry in 2021/2022 and a member of the society executive board . I am a member of the Faculty of Dental Surgery/ Royal College of surgeons in England board and the Chair of the FDS Research Committee . I am also the Chair of the Tricollegiate membership in Paediatric Dentistry Examination board.

Internationally , I am a member of European academy in Paediatric Dentistry educational committee and the UK councillor .

Research Overview
I am the Lead for the school Oral Health Research Group. The group is an interdisciplinary team comprises dedicated researchers from various fields, uniting the expertise of clinical dentistry, health psychology, and biostatistics. Together, we are committed to advancing oral health research through collaborative and person-focused research, with a primary goal of enhancing health outcomes and addressing health inequalities. One of our strengths is engaging with our patients in many ways, as a group we strive to involve the local communities in our research from its inception to dissemination and implementation. My main focus is investigating and reducing health inequalities. Below are most recent grants award and publications

Grants

• RCS England one year research fellowship Exploring remote treatment planning for a dental general anaesthetic by specialists in paediatric dentistry - A vignette study £87,536 – primary supervisor
• The Borrow Foundation Children Growing Up in Liverpool Oral Health Component £57,899 - CI
• NHS Cheshire and Merseyside Parent Champion for Oral Health Project Evaluation 15k – CI
• Unilever- Human enamel subsurface lesion measurement and in vitro model development to assess anti-caries efficacy of toothpaste products £134,828 - CI
• NHIR HTA, CHOICE TRIAL: Changing Habits tO Prevent ChIld CariEs: A Randomised Controlled Trial of a Family Focused Therapeutic Conversation Delivered by Dental Nurses in Primary Care, Co-applicant and PI/ Clinical Lead for Liverpool. total award: £2,608,678.50
• NIHR HTA, Pulpotomy for the management of irreversible pulpitis in mature teeth (Pulpotomy for Irreversible Pulpitis - PIP Trial), Co-applicant and Co-PI for University of Liverpool, total award £1,996,749.96

Key Collaborations:

• Oral Health Theme Lead and member of co-investigator group for Children Growing up in Liverpool (C-GULL) birth cohort.
• Experimental Arthritis Treatment Centre for Children (EATC4Children) new collaboration working with emerging workstreams around Bechet Syndrome, IgA vasculitis.
• Paediatric Dental attendances to Emergency Departments. Collaboration to understand and reduce unnecessary dental attendances to ED.