Professor Justin Durham has been appointed as the British Dental Association's (BDA's) new Chief Scientific Advisor following the retirement of Professor Damien Walmsley. Professor Durham is currently Head of the School of Dental Sciences at Newcastle University and holds a personal Chair in Orofacial Pain. He has wide-ranging research experience from early-stage biosciences research through translational studies and into applied health research.

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Professor Durham said: 'I am delighted to take up this privileged position on behalf of our whole professional group and hope to be able to use this as a springboard to help further develop oral health-related research, its implementation and its presence in the consciousness of decision-makers, the population and our profession'.

Professor Durham also emphasised the importance of ensuring the broadest possible representation for the BDA on scientific matters with the widest possible number of voices contributing to this. To this end the BDA's recently revised Health and Science Committee has been further expanded to include four new members to allow the committee to work across the broadest possible agenda with the largest possible basis of expertise.

Charlotte Currie is a Clinical Fellow/Doctoral Fellow at Newcastle University's School of Dental Sciences. Her primary research interests are in health services research for acute dental pain and associated urgent dental care pathways. She has research experience and training in epidemiology, qualitative research, behaviour change and intervention development.

Paul Hatton is the Professor of Biomaterials Science and Director for Research at the School of Clinical Dentistry, University of Sheffield. His main research focus is on biomaterials and medical devices for unmet clinical needs in oral medicine and surgery, with wider expertise in the safety of healthcare technologies and regulatory affairs. He has led a number of major UK and European research projects, and his contributions to the field have been recognised with the award of a number of prizes as well as elected roles in societies.

Hanya Mahmood is an NIHR Doctoral Research Fellow and Honorary Registrar in Oral Surgery at the School of Clinical Dentistry, University of Sheffield. Her primary research focuses on the application of Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning to explore novel digital biomarkers in oral precancers. She is a key member of the evolving NEOPATH research group through which she is leading innovation in head and neck cancer research. She also represents academic trainees for the Association of British Academic Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons.

Praveen Sharma is an Associate Professor and Honorary Consultant in Restorative Dentistry at the School of Dentistry in the University of Birmingham. His research expertise lies in the fields of big data, epidemiology, medical statistics and the interface between oral and systemic diseases. Praveen's research has won him numerous accolades and he has been invited by national and international periodontal societies to present his research. Praveen's specialty is restorative dentistry, encompassing periodontics, endodontics and prosthodontics.

The BDA looks forward to working with Professor Durham. He and the other new members join the BDA's existing expert Health and Science Committee members: Dr Mick Armstrong (Chair), Professor Avijit Banerjee, Dr Abs Casaus, Dr Anwen Cope, Professor Anne-Marie Glenny, Dr Colwyn Jones, Professor Elizabeth Kay, Dr Kristina Kay, Dr Gerry McKenna, Dr Rakhee Patel, Dr Susie Sanderson, Dr Jason Stokes, Dr Wendy Thompson and Professor David Williams.