University of Birmingham |

Birmingham, United Kingdom (2

programs )
Programme website :
http://www.birmingham.ac.uk/postgraduate/courses/research/dent/dentistry.aspx

University Website : http://www.birmingham.ac.uk/index.aspx

For more information check the country website

1. PhD Dentistry
Clinical and Experimental Oral Sciences: Major research areas in this theme include
Clinical Epidemiology and Dental Public Health, Periodontal Research, Ultrasonics
and Nontechnology and Oral Cancer Biology

Description
There is a strong translational focus in all of our research, driven by relevant clinical questions in
a breadth of areas including primary care, endodontics, orthodontics, restorative and paediatric
dentistry, periodontology and oral and maxillofacial surgery. We have developed collaborations
across all research themes as well as integration with other life and physical science areas
enabling a comprehensive understand of oral disease processes and oral health problems. In
addition, we boast world-class basic science and clinical dental expertise, providing a focus for
international collaborations with visiting professors and researchers from leading institutions
worldwide.

The aim is to use this knowledge to develop novel and innovative dental technologies,
diagnostics and therapeutic solutions for common oral and general health problems to improve
health and quality of life. The new School of Dentistry and Dental Hospital houses world class,
state-of-the-art facilities, employing cutting-edge technologies to enhance collaboration, explore
oral health and disease mechanisms and formulate new healthcare solutions, accelerating
research innovation for patient care and well-being.

Detailed Course Facts

Application deadline None, but early application advised
Tuition fee
 GBP 17910 Year (Non-EEA)

GBP 4110 Year (EEA)

Start date September 2016

Duration full-time 3 Years
Languages
Delivery mode On Campus
Educational variant Full-time
Project Type Open
Educational Form Academic
Course Detail
Our multidisciplinary research is split across two overarching research themes:

Clinical and Experimental Oral Sciences: Major research areas in this theme include Clinical
Epidemiology and Dental Public Health, Periodontal Research, Ultrasonics and Nontechnology
and Oral Cancer Biology

Oral Regeneration and Rehabilitation Sciences: Major research areas in this theme include
Dental, Implant and Bone Materials and Stem Cell, Pulp, Bone and Mucosal Tissue
Regeneration.

There is a strong translational focus in all of our research, driven by relevant clinical questions in
a breadth of areas including primary care, endodontics, orthodontics, restorative and paediatric
dentistry, periodontology and oral and maxillofacial surgery. We have developed collaborations
across all research themes as well as integration with other life and physical science areas
enabling a comprehensive understand of oral disease processes and oral health problems. In
addition, we boast world-class basic science and clinical dental expertise, providing a focus for
international collaborations with visiting professors and researchers from leading institutions
worldwide.

We aim to use this knowledge to develop novel and innovative dental technologies, diagnostics
and therapeutic solutions for common oral and general health problems to improve health and
quality of life. The new School of Dentistry and Dental Hospital houses world class, state-of-the-
art facilities, employing cutting-edge technologies to enhance collaboration, explore oral health
and disease mechanisms and formulate new healthcare solutions, accelerating research
innovation for patient care and well-being.

English Language Requirements

IELTS take IELTS test
6.5
TOEFL iBT test (read more)
100

Requirements for Dentistry

To gain admission to a research degree programme (with the exception of the Doctor of Dental
Surgery (DDS) or Doctor of Medicine (MD)) an applicant must comply with the following entry
requirements:

Attainment of an Honours degree (normally a First or Upper Second Class Honours

degree or equivalent) in a relevant subject awarded by an approved university, or

Attainment of an alternative qualification or qualifications and/or evidence of experience

judged by the University as indicative of an applicants potential for research and as
satisfactory for the purpose of entry to a research degree programme.

In addition:

Admission and registration for a research degree programme may be conditional on

satisfactory completion of preliminary study, which may include assessment.

In some cases you will also need to have completed a Masters degree or equivalent
qualification in a relevant subject.
Please note

1. Entry onto many programmes is highly competitive, therefore we consider the skills,
attributes, motivation and potential for success of an individual when deciding whether to
make an offer.

2. Specific entry requirements are given for each programme. Any academic and
professional qualifications or industrial experience you may have are normally taken into
account, and in some cases form an integral part of the entrance requirements. If your
qualifications are non-standard or different from the entry requirements stated in the
online prospectus, please contact the relevant school or department to discuss whether
your application would be considered.

3. After we have received your application you may, if you live in the UK, be invited for an
interview or to visit us to discuss your application.
English language requirements

IELTS 7.0 with no less than 6.5 in any band;

 TOEFL IBT 100 with no less than 23 in any band

Research examples

Examples of our research include:

Demonstrating the importance of growth factors and other bioactive molecules

sequestered within dental tissues in driving tissue responses to disease and clinical
outcomes for the tooth.

The development of novel treatments for dental and oral tissue repair based on stem cell
and biomaterial tissue regenerative technologies

Leading research into the redox biology of oral diseases and how micronutritional
strategies can regulate oral inflammation.

Pioneering the development of assays for biomarkers of periodontitis, leading to the

development of diagnostic technologies in routine clinical use.

Epidemiological research on the links between chronic periodontitis and systemic

disease, in particular rheumatoid arthritis and chronic kidney disease.

Pioneering involvement in the National Dental Health Surveys (Office of National

Statistics) for children and adults leading to the unravelling of major trends in oral
disease patterns over 30 years. This is crucial to informing future oral health care policy
and directing NHS resources to those in most need.

The development of novel digital image processing/analysis techniques in oral pathology

to provide accurate, evidence-based diagnostic decisions and reliable prognostic tools for
oral cancer.

The epigenetics of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) and the role of chronic
inflammation in the origins of OSCC.

Development of novel dental and orthopaedic materials to improve the longevity of

dental restorations and the outcome of many orthopaedic procedures.

Investigations into the vibration characteristics of dental ultrasonic instruments and

powered toothbrushes, which aim to influence the design and development of ultrasound
dental instruments and improve patient care.
 Prevalence studies in children and adolescents on dental erosion and tooth wear and their
causes, underpinned by laboratory mechanistic studies on both erosion and toothpaste
abrasivity.

Research on the nature and role of education in dentistry, particularly the role and impact
of e-learning.

University of Birmingham

2. PhD Dentistry (Tissue Injury and

Repair Specialism
Programme website http://www.birmingham.ac.uk/schools/dentistry/index.aspx

University Website http://www.birmingham.ac.uk/index.aspx

University of Birmingham | Birmingham, United Kingdom

This theme area includes oral biology and pathology, restorative and children's dentistry, and
periodontology.
Description of Dentistry (Tissue Injury and Repair
Specialism)
It brings a range of molecular, cellular and physical approaches to bear on its strategy to
understand fundamental aspects of injury to various oral tissues, novel forms of their diagnosis
and new approaches to tissue repair and regeneration.

The focus is on mechanistic aspects of the damage and repair processes, providing a sound
scientific basis to inform and develop novel and innovative approaches to the clinical
management of these lesions.

Research is undertaken in a brand new suite of state-of-the-art laboratories, and

many international as well as national research collaborations are in progress. Thus
researchers in this area are exposed to the cutting edges of their fields of activity.

Detailed Course Facts

Detailed Course Facts
Application deadline None, but early application advised
Tuition fee

GBP 17910 Year (Non-EEA)

GBP 4110 Year (EEA)

Start date September 2016

Duration full-time 3 Years
Languages
Delivery mode On Campus
Educational variant Full-time
Project Type Open
Educational Form Academic

Course Content
Examples of research work in this area include:

A major focus on tooth tissue regeneration, which offers exciting opportunities for
development of novel biologically-based therapies to supersede more traditional filling
approaches for tooth disease (Professor Tony Smith, Dr Ben Scheven, Dr Paul Cooper).
 Studies on tooth development which have shown that many of the cell-signalling
processes are recapitulated during repair and regeneration in the mature tooth. Matrix-
bound growth factors can be released during tissue dissolution arising from caries, and
play a key role in signalling regenerative events. Stem cell-like populations present in the
adult pulp are likely to respond to these growth factor signals for regenerative events.
Gene expression studies, using micro-arrays and other technologies, are providing
valuable understanding of the molecular mediators involved, and offer the opportunity for
targeting these processes pharmaceutically (Professor Phil Lumley, Professor Tony
Smith, Dr Paul Cooper). Our research includes the study of ultrasound effects on bone
and tooth cells in order to elucidate the potential therapeutic role of ultrasound in tissue
repair (Dr Ben Scheven, Dr Paul Cooper, Professor Tony Smith, Dr Simon Lea, Professor
Damien Walmsley).

Unravelling the complex stress response pathways in periodontitis at the molecular,

cellular and clinical level (periodontal research group). Broad expertise allows the study
of interactions between oral bacteria, epithelial cells and those of the inflammatory-
immune system. The group are global research and opinion leaders in the REDOX
biology mechanisms underpinning the pathogenesis of periodontitis and in the
development of novel host-modulating therapies (Professor Iain Chapple, Dr John
Matthews, Mr Mike Milward, Dr Melissa Grant, Dr Paul Cooper).

Studies of peripheral blood neutrophil hyper-inflammation mediated via reactive oxygen

species have unravelled, for the first time, a functional and reversible peripheral blood
neutrophilic hyper-reactivity as well as a constitutional hyper-activity (Dr John
Matthews, Professor Iain Chapple, Dr Helen Wright), which appears to underlie
compromised plasma and crevicular fluid antioxidant defences (Professor Iain Chapple,
Dr John Matthews).

A landmark study demonstrating a key role for reduced glutathione in inflammatory

periodontitis; subsequent work has revealed its fundamental role in controlling epithelial
cell cytokine and chemokine production at the genomic and transcriptomic level (Cooper,
Milward, Matthews, Chapple). This has led to further cutting-edge research into the
applied biology of interferon-neutrophil and bacterial DNA-neutrophil interactions. The
group has been the first outside the USA to demonstrate production of neutrophil
extracellular traps (NETS) (Cooper, Chapple, Matthews, Wright). A new collaboration
with Professor Helen Griffiths Group at Aston's School of Health and Life Sciences is
providing an even broader perspective and exciting opportunities for young researchers in
several areas of common interest.

Forging new avenues of enquiry into the role of periodontal pathogens in neutrophil NET
formation. We have also demonstrated that stress-related hormones have significant
growth-promoting effects on many bacteria found in plaque.

Using quantitative pathology for innovative, analytical methods to collect quantifiable

and reproducible markers of disease, which are necessary to provide accurate, evidence-
based diagnostic decisions and reliable prognostic parameters. Many of the tools
 pioneered by our team are based on digital image processing/analysis with an ultimate
goal of developing intelligent diagnostic instrumentation. Long-standing international
collaborations coupled with the use of computer modelling of cell and tissue growth have
provided new insights into organ and tissue development. We have pioneered the
development of markers of epithelial tissue architecture analysis and the use of fractal
geometry to characterise the complexity of tissue mixing in chimaeras, tumour growth,
pre-cancer growth and chemically-induced cancer (Dr Gabriel Landini).

Researching the molecular, cellular and histomorphological aspects of oral lichen planus.
The group is using organotypic tissue culture and imaging techniques to provide a better
understanding of the aetiology and pathogenesis of this common oral disease. Image
analysis is used to characterise biopsy samples and gene expression technologies are used
to define the molecular changes associated with disease development. The generation of
an in vitro model of oral lichen planus is being established to facilitate screening of novel
therapies (Mr John Hamburger, Dr Gabriel Landini, Dr Dick Shelton, Dr Paul Cooper).

The establishment of an internationally leading dental ultrasonics research centre within

the School (Professor Damien Walmsley, Dr Gabriel Landini, Dr Simon Lea) supported
by both EPSRC and commercial funding (www.bham.ac.uk/dentalultrasonics). Scanning
laser vibrometry is used to investigate the vibration characteristics of dental ultrasonic
instruments and powered toothbrushes. Novel in vitro tooth model systems are being
designed and created to enable clinically realistic vibration measurements to be made.
This work is globally recognised and is helping industry to develop and improve such
technologies to the benefit of patients. Walmsley and Lea are investigating the
biophysical forces generated around such instruments as well as evaluating the vibrations
generated during dental drilling with the aim of reducing patient discomfort. The School
is also involved in the Cochrane Review on the clinical effectiveness of powered
toothbrushes (Professor Damien Walmsley).

English Language Requirements

IELTS take IELTS test
6.5
TOEFL iBT test (read more)
100

Requirements for Dentistry (Tissue Injury and Repair

Specialism)
To gain admission to a research degree programme (with the exception of the Doctor of Dental
Surgery (DDS) or Doctor of Medicine (MD)) an applicant must comply with the following entry
requirements:
 Attainment of an Honours degree (normally a First or Upper Second Class Honours
degree or equivalent) in a relevant subject awarded by an approved university, or

Attainment of an alternative qualification or qualifications and/or evidence of experience

judged by the University as indicative of an applicants potential for research and as
satisfactory for the purpose of entry to a research degree programme.

In addition:

Admission and registration for a research degree programme may be conditional on

satisfactory completion of preliminary study, which may include assessment.

In some cases you will also need to have completed a Masters degree or equivalent
qualification in a relevant subject.
Please note

1. Entry onto many programmes is highly competitive, therefore we consider the skills,
attributes, motivation and potential for success of an individual when deciding whether to
make an offer.

2. Specific entry requirements are given for each programme. Any academic and
professional qualifications or industrial experience you may have are normally taken into
account, and in some cases form an integral part of the entrance requirements. If your
qualifications are non-standard or different from the entry requirements stated in the
online prospectus, please contact the relevant school or department to discuss whether
your application would be considered.

3. After we have received your application you may, if you live in the UK, be invited for an
interview or to visit us to discuss your application.
English language requirements

IELTS 7.0 with no less than 6.5 in any band;

TOEFL IBT 100 with no less than 23 in any band

Work Experience for Dentistry (Tissue Injury and Repair

Specialism)
No work experience is required.