A memorandum of understanding has been signed between King's College London Dental Institute and the Tohoku University Graduate School of Dentistry in Japan. The agreement will further promote research collaboration between academic staff in areas of mutual interest, including exchange visits between academic and research staff.

Professor Stephen Challacombe, Vice-Dean and Director for External Development of King's College London Dental Institute and Dr Nobuhiro Takahashi, Professor and Vice-Dean of the Tohoku University Graduate School of Dentistry signed a collaborative agreement at a special ceremony held recently at the 84th General Session of the International Association of Dental Research (IADR) in Brisbane, Australia.

The agreement formalises links which have been developed between researchers at the two universities over a number of years. Mutual research interests include basic biology of oral diseases, understanding the host-parasite relationship including immune responses to oral flora and the development of biologically active materials.

Professor Challacombe said, “This formal agreement will enable our institutions to pool their expertise in a number of important research areas, particularly those linking basic research into the bacteria that cause disease and the development of new treatments and disease prevention measures for our patients. We share a specific interest in developing and strengthening the interface between the oral health sciences and clinical care.”