Department of Dentistry and Oral Health - Staff Portal

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Newsletter 59 from the Head of Department

Dear All, We are in full swing with a new study year - a very special one with the start of our new study programs for dental hygiene, clinical dental technician and the 2nd year of the bachelor's program in dentistry. And with a record high number of applicants, which you can read more about in this autumn newsletter.

INTERNAL AT THE INSTITUTE

University elections 2023: Run for election or vote - you are needed, also in the Institute Forum

In November, Aarhus University will once again hold elections for several of our large and important forums – Aarhus University's Board of Directors, Academic Council and our own Institute Forum. This year, all employee groups and students are up for election.

Remember to vote. And if you have the time and desire to run for election for one or more of the democratic forums, I would strongly recommend that you do so. It is a good opportunity to make your influence felt, and it is important that your subject area and our institute are represented in the forums that deal with important topics for our work and everyday life.

In the last edition of the faculty's newsletter, secretariat employee Enette Berndt Knudsen and I told about the good experiences we have had working in IOOS' Institute Forum, which functions as the institute's own Advisory Board. Finally, contact Enette or other members of the Institute Forum if you want to know more about what we do and what participation requires. You are also very welcome to contact academic staff member Signe Marie Viborg if you need help with setting up (note the deadline to run for election is tomorrow Thursday 12 October at 12 noon) or voting (Monday 13 November at 9.00 - Thursday 16 November 2023 at 16:00).

New Head of clinical teachers in the joint clinic and treatment planning unit of the dental education

Caroline Bindslev Hørsted is the new manager of clinical teachers in the joint clinic and treatment planning unit of the dental education from 1 August 2023. For a long time, we have wished for the clinical teachers to be more strongly anchored in the educational track. This will allow for a clearer paedagogical-didactic framework and strengthening of the clinical teaching function based on research-based clinical teaching at the university in close collaboration with the professional environments.

The Deputy Heads of Department continue for another three years

The functional areas of the Deputy Heads of Department are leading and coordinating the educational strategic and research strategic work at IOOS, to be involved in the day-to-day management of the department, and to act as Deputies for the Head of Department. Deputy Heads of Department are appointed by the Head of Department for three years at a time, with the possibility of extension. Deputy Head for Education Caroline Bindslev Hørsted and Deputy Head for Research Lene Baad-Hansen make a huge and exemplary effort, both in the day-to-day management of IOOS and as a driving force in the work with our new study programs 'The Aarhus Model of Dental Education' and our research strategy 'Orofacial Health - a Part of General Health', and in the representation of IOOS at faculty and university level. On this basis, I have offered both to continue for another three years, and they have both agreed to hold the posts up to and including September 2026. I am looking forward to the continued constructive and good cooperation on IOOS.

AU Motion is looking for new members - is it for you?

I have to admit that I was completely unaware that Aarhus University has an exercise association for employees - AU Motion - which offers everything from team training in yoga, spinning, karate and circuit training to personal training using various fitness machines. There is also a sports hall that you can book for e.g. badminton.

AU Motion is currently looking for new members, and maybe it could be something for you? A membership costs DKK 100 per month for AU employees - and you can register a spouse or friend for the same price. AU Motion is located at Paludan-Müllers Vej 111, and the gym is open from 05.00-22.30. See more on the website https://motion.au.dk/en/.

 

RESEARCH, EDUCATION & TEACHING

High numbers of applicants for our educations

The semester is well underway, there is life in the corridors and in the clinics, and our new students are getting used to student life. Again this year, we can be pleased with the great interest in training in the orofacial area with us:

• Odontology: This year we received 1,009 applications, of which 401 were first priority applications – this is 18% more than last year.

• Dental hygiene: 487 applied for the dental hygiene education. That is 11% more than last year.

• Clinical Dental Technology: Our brand new professional bachelor's degree is off to a flying start. We received 188 quota 1 applicants, of which 57 were first priority applications for 25 study places.

Quota 2 application figures were correspondingly high. Now it's our turn to live up to the great expectations, so that we are training the best dental hygienists, dentists and clinical dental technicians. Read more in the article: Huge demand for study places at Health once again.

We are strengthening the department's teaching and research environment with four new professors and an associate professor

I am happy that we have succeeded in employing four new professors and one new associate professor:

• Lise-Lotte Kirkevang, Professor of Endodontics per 1 August 2023

• Sebastian Schlafer, Professor of Cariology per 1 September 2023

• Rubens Spin-Neto, Professor of Dentomaxillofacial Radiology and Imaging per 1 September 2023

• Mario Vianna Vettore, Professor of Oral Epidemiology and Public Health per 1 January 2024

• Ruben Pauwels, Associate Professor in Artificial Intelligence and Advanced Image Processing per 1 September 2023

Congratulations to the new recruits and IOOS. I am very much looking forward to the collaboration and to our teaching and research environments being strengthened with the professionalism you each contribute.

Invitation: Come to a lecture with Nobel Laureate Morten Meldal

Health has invited last year's Danish Nobel Laureate Morten Meldal from the University of Copenhagen to give a presentation in the Faculty of Health's academic lecture series, Nobel Laureate Talks. Morten Meldal will visit us on Wednesday 1 November 2023, where he will partly talk about his pioneering work with so-called click chemistry and partly about his life in research and the path to the Nobel Prize. The presentation is particularly aimed at early-career researchers, but everyone is welcome in Aulaen at 13.30-15.30. The event is free, but registration is required: https://events.au.dk/nobellaureatetalkmortenmeldal. Read more in the article "Meet Nobel laureate Morten Meldal".

Health Student Research Prize 2024: Do we have candidates?

If you are the supervisor of a student who has distinguished themselves through particularly excellent written work, then now is the time to nominate the student for Faculty of Health Student Research Prize 2024. The award was founded by the Academic Council to celebrate and highlight the breadth of student research at Health, and therefore it would also be good if we could nominate talented students, research year students or PhD students from IOOS. The work for which the award is given can take many forms (thesis, article, annual research report, bachelor's thesis, etc.) and must be completed during the study period.

The deadline for nominations is 20 November 2023. Read more about who can be nominated, how to do it and what criteria form the basis of the assessment on the website.

 

Commercial advice for researchers is now gathered in The Kitchen

Advice and support for researchers on commercialization and intellectual property rights is now gathered in Aarhus University's entrepreneurial hub The Kitchen, located in University City. This means that in future we will only have to turn to one place for help in developing research into business. The change takes place as part of the work to strengthen the University's organization of support for the research area. You can read more about the offer on the University's employee website.

 

NEWS ABOUT NAMES

Research Awards for IOOS

Over the summer, we have been favoured with many prestigious awards for our research:

  • Sukeshana Srivastav, a coming PhD student at the Section for Orthodontics, won the "IADR Innovation Award in Orthodontics" at the International Association for Dental Research's conference in Bogota in June for the project on MRI and orthodontics (systematic literature review) that she worked with as a research assistant.
  • During the European Conference in Orthodontics, held in June in Oslo, several researchers from the Section for Orthodontics were rewarded for their work:
    • Clinical lecturer Helene Banner Pedersen received "The Houston Award" - a prize that goes to early-career researchers for the best research project and oral presentation.
    • Kathrine Dahl Kristensen, who is affiliated with the section as an external scientific employee, won the prize for the best clinical record.
    • Senior Clinical Instructor Annelise Küseler is co-author of an article addressing a multicenter study (Scandcleft), which was voted best research article in the European Journal of Orthodontics.
  • At the beginning of July, postdoc Mathilde Frost Kristensen, Section for Oral Ecology - Cariology, won "The Nathan Cochrane Young Investigator Award" at the annual ORCA congress (The Organization for Caries Research), and the article on the same research project has just been accepted for publication in Journal of Dental Research.
  • Clinical lecturer at the Section for Orofacial Pain and Jaw Function, Simple Futarmal Kothari, has been awarded the "International Outstanding Researcher Award in Dentistry" by Asia's Science Technology and Research Awards (ASTRA 2023) in India in August. She received the award for a research project on "Neuromodulation of perceptual distortion".
  • At the annual meeting of the Association of Dental Education in Europe (ADEE), which took place in Liverpool in August, we received a "Practice Green Award" for our Circle U. collaboration on sustainability in healthcare and healthcare education. With us, the special effort is handled by Helle Hornhaver.

Congratulations to all of you - it is so well deserved that our research is also recognized with international honours.

 

Globally leading experts in radiology and cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) from IOOS

The international platform Expertscape ranks experts and research institutions from all over the world in the biomedical field based on scientific publications and a number of other parameters (read more about expertscapes rangeringsmetode). Within "Expertise in dental radiology - worldwide" Professor Ann Wenzel is ranked no. 2 in the world, our Honorary Skou Professor Falk Schwendicke from Circle U. collaborator Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin is ranked no. 8, and Professor Rubens Spin-Neto is ranked no. 9.

Within "Expertise in cone-beam computed tomography - worldwide", Ann Wenzel is ranked as no. 4, Rubens Spin-Neto as no. 6 and our newly appointed Associate Professor Ruben Pauwels is ranked as no. 13.

It is a demanding research effort with impact that is the basis for such great and impressive rankings.

IOOS in the media

During the summer, there have also been requests for our knowledge, experience and expertise in the media:

  • Anne Haugaard Kristensen, who has just graduated as a dental hygienist, has during the spring been part of a project on cleaning the mouth, teeth and prostheses at the Pulmonary Medicine Department at Aalborg University Hospital. TV2 Nord visited the Department in July, and you can see the clip and interviews on the link here (approx. 6:50 min. into the broadcast, in Danish): https://www.tv2nord.dk/nyheder/04-07-2023 /1930/1930-04072023

Autumn greetings,

Siri

 

Revised 14.05.2024