East of England Junior Papers Day

Three senior house officers won first prize at the East of England Junior Papers Day held on 6 July at the British School of Racing in Newmarket, sponsored by the Faculty of Dental Surgery of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh. Niamh O'Rourke of Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust won the prize for her presentation on An audit of compliance with BAHNO Standards; Amaka Ngwuocha from the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust for her case report presentation on Bilateral Acoustic Neuroma; and Lauren Jessica Hardwick, also from the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, for her poster presentation on An audit on mental capacity.

The East of England multi-professional Deanery also awarded runner-up prizes to Aaron John Cronin, Hakeem Ajao, Stefan Abela and Mohamed-Saeed Seedat.

President of the International Academy of Oral Oncology

Professor Crispian Scully CBE has been elected President of the International Academy of Oral Oncology (IAOO) at the Singapore Congress in July.

NICDR grant

A team of researchers at King's College London and the Forsyth Institute have been awarded a large grant by the US National Institute for Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) to continue their work on compiling the first comprehensive list of oral bacterial species.

The Human Oral Microbiome Database provides descriptions of each species together with tools for analysis of their DNA. The NICDR grant will enable the researchers to continue cataloguing the Human Oral Microbiome and describing the 1,000 different bacterial species found in the human mouth.

First cohort graduate from Peninsula Dental School

Forty-seven dentists are the first graduating cohort from the Peninsula Dental School in the South West of England, the first new dental school to open in the UK in 40 years.

Students at Peninsula Dental School first hone their clinical skills by using the latest virtual technology before carrying out assessments and treatments for NHS patients under supervision, at dental education facilities in Exeter, Plymouth and Truro over the four-year course.

Rowena takes the reins

Rowena Milan is the new Publisher of the BDA Publications portfolio. Rowena joined the British Dental Journal editorial team in 2005 as Journal Editor and became BDJ Managing Editor in 2010.

Kate Maynard, best known as Editor of Vital, the BDJ's sister title for dental care professionals (DCPs), has also added to her duties by assuming the role of BDJ News Editor on a permanent basis. Kate originally joined the BDJ editorial team in 2003 as Manuscript Administrator before rising through the editorial ranks.