Keynote speaker biographies

Colgate Eminent Lecturer

Professor Benjamin Wu DDS PhD

Department of Bioengineering, School of Engineering, and Division of Advanced Prosthodontics, School of Dentistry, University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, USA

Professor Wu is a practicing clinician and biomaterial scientist. He is Professor and Chair of the Division of Advanced Prosthodontics, and the Director of the Weintraub Center for Reconstructive Biotechnology at the UCLA School of Dentistry. He also chairs the Department of Bioengineering at the School of Engineering. Dr. Wu provides multidisciplinary patient care in the UCLA Faculty Group Dental Practice, where he focuses on the treatment of advanced, complex oral rehabilitation using implant, fixed, and removable prosthodontics. He is a fellow of the Academy of Prosthodontics. He joined the UCLA School of Engineering in 2000 and holds formal academic appointments in the Department of Bioengineering in the School of Engineering, Division of Advanced Prosthodontics in the School of Dentistry, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, and the Department of Orthopedic Surgery in School of Medicine.

His research applies bioengineering approaches to regenerate lost tissues. He uses a biomimetic strategy informed from natural developmental biology, wound healing and tissue remodeling. He investigates the mechanisms by which progenitor cells and biomolecules interact with engineered microenvironments, which can be formed with a combination of surface bound and/or diffusible biochemical signals and/or biomechanical signals.

Keynote Speakers

Adjunct Professor Antonio Barone DDS MSc PhD

School of Dental Medicine, Department of Surgical, Medical, Molecular Pathology, University of Pisa, Italy and Co-Director, Division of Oral Surgery, Tuscan Dental Institute, Foundation for Dental Research, Clinic and Continuing Education, Versilia Hospital, Lido di Camaiore, Lucca, Italy.

Dr Barone is currently Adjunct Professor at the School of Dental Medicine of the University of Pisa, Italy. Dr Barone is Co-Director of the Division of Oral Surgery at the Versilia Hospital, Lucca, Italy where he also co-ordinates the Oral Sciences research activity. He is the President of the European Federation of Oral Surgery Societies (EFOSS) and Past-President of the Italian Society of Oral Surgery and Implantology (SICOI). Professor Barone is also Clinical Assistant Professor, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, State University of New York at Buffalo, USA and Visiting Assistant Professor at the Department of Periodontology, State University of New York at Stony Brook, USA. His research focuses on the use of different biomaterials for bone augmentation procedures in implant patients. Dr Barone has extensively investigated the biological and clinical aspects of several implant surgical and restorative procedures with immediate post-extraction implants, immediate loading, sinus lift and ridge preservation techniques.

Professor Paul Brunton MSc PhD

Dean, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Otago, New Zealand

Professor Brunton recently joined the University of Otago from the University of Leeds, Leeds, UK. At the University of Leeds School of Dentistry, Professor Brunton was the Director of Student Education. Professor Brunton graduated from University of Leeds, School of Dentistry in 1984 and obtained his MSc in Restorative Dentistry in 1992 and his PhD in 1996 from the University of Manchester. Professor Brunton was granted his fellowship in Dental Surgery from The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh in 1995 and subsequently was awarded Fellowship ad eundem of the Faculty of General Dental Practice (UK) of the Royal College of Surgeons of England in 2005 and of the Faculty of Dental Surgery of The Royal College of Surgeons of England in 2009. Professor Brunton is a member of the Academy of Operative Dentistry having previously served on its research committee. He is currently a member of the advisory board to the European Section of the Academy of Operative Dentistry. Professor Brunton's research interests include operative dentistry, specifically tooth preparation and tooth whitening, the early diagnosis and treatment of tooth wear and practice based research.

Associate Professor Konstantinos Michalakis DDS MSc PhD FACP

Department of Prosthodontics, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki School of Dentistry, Thessalonica Greece and Adjunct Associate Professor, Department of Prosthodontics and Operative Dentistry, Tufts University School of Dental Medicine, Boston, MA, USA

Professor Michalakis is Clinical Director of Graduate Prosthodontics, Department of Prosthodontics at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki School of Dentistry. He is a fellow of the American College of Prosthodontists and a member of the American Academy of Fixed Prosthodontics, the Academy of Osseointegration, the European Association for Osseointegration, the International College of Dentists and the European Society of Biomechanics. Professor Michalakis' research interests include biomechanical properties of teeth and osseointegrated implants.

Professor Svante Twetman DDS PhD Odont Dr

Department of Dentistry, Section for Cariology, Endodontics, Pediatric Dentistry & Clinical Genetics, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark

Professor Twetman is licensed specialist in pediatric dentistry and professor of Cariology at the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Denmark and consultant at the Maxillo-facial unit at Halland Hospital, Halmstad, Sweden. He holds the Odont Dr Degree from the Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden. Professor Twetman's current research interests are risk assessment and prevention of oral diseases, focused on oral and microbial ecology with special emphasis on fluoride, antibacterial agents, sugar-substitutes, and pre- and probiotic bacteria.

For inquiries related to IADR ANZ 2015 keynote speakers or the scientific programme, please email richard.cannon@otago.ac.nz.