Recent Significant Research Achievements
The establishment of the Centre for Rural and Remote Oral Health (CRROH) within the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry has brought significant education and research value to the School. Established in 2000, the Centre’s budget over the next 5 years is between $6 and $7 million. The Centre is a national first and contributes significantly to the Bachelor of Dental Science Course, in particular through rural and Northern Territory placements and the Cultural Awareness week (CICA) that are a part of the Pre-Graduation Intern Year. Dr. Jon Swain, Senior Lecturer in Periodontics, has established a collaborative study with the University’s Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology located at the King Edward Memorial Hospital for Women. The aim of the study is look at the associations between periodontal health and Pregnancy. Seed funding has been kindly supplied through the Faculty in the form of an M.M. Seaman Grant and the Ada Bartholomew Medical Research Trust. Dr Lena Lejmanoski in conjunction with A/Prof. Marc Tennant and Prof Paul Abbott have initiated a project called “NightinGale”. The aim of this project is to develop and trial a neural network based automated system for the triage of emergency dental patients. The proposed system provides a simple method where a complex diagnostic map can be used by non-dental personnel to provide and organize appointments for emergency dental patients. This project is an example of how the School and OHCWA are able to interact easily and effectively in areas (i.e. research and community service) beyond teaching and clinical service delivery, yet at the same time benefit both of these areas and organisations. Most staff are involved in collaborative research with other Schools or departments within the University of WA, or with other institutions that provide health care in Western Australia. Some staff are also actively involved in collaborative research with Universities in other countries. Individual academic staff members’ recent research activity, as well as current activity and future plans, are summarised in the following reports. This information should be considered in conjunction with each staff member’s commitments to teaching, clinical service delivery and administration within the School and OHCWA. Report on Staff Members’ Research Activities § Professor Paul Abbott § Associate Professor Marc Tennant § Associate Professor Ray Williamson § Associate Professor Theo Gotjamanos § Dr Mithran Goonewardene § Dr Linda Slack-Smith § Dr Jon Swain § Dr Nick Boyd § Dr Gareth Davies | 
