Dr Peter Fine has been awarded his PhD for his thesis General dental practitioners’ perceptions of a change in confidence following a five-year part time master’s programme.
This was the first ever PhD research project in dental education at the Institute and the first PhD to be completed within the department of Continuing Professional Development.
Primary Supervisor Professor Chris Louca said: “Peter looked at the confidence levels of general dental practitioners undertaking a part-time master’s programme at the Institute and how this influenced their learning.
“Peter studied the interplay between different teaching approaches and confidence.
“The study showed how increases in confidence positively impacted on learning and thereby the clinical dentistry provided by the general dental practitioners, to the ultimate benefit of their patients.
“Peter’s work has provided invaluable information regarding the most effective way of providing further training and education to dental clinicians who are only able to study on a part time basis.
“It is anticipated that the provision of part time courses at the Institute will benefit from Peter’s research and that he will be able to take this research forward in the future.”
Dr Liam Reynolds has also been awarded a PhD for his thesis entitled The identification and characterisation of novel antimicrobial resistance genes from human and animal metagenomes.
Primary Supervisor Dr Adam Roberts said: “I am very pleased for, and proud of, Liam. He has worked extremely hard on a technically challenging project investigating antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in human and animal associated bacteria.
“Through his research he has discovered new antimicrobial resistance genes and determined novel molecular mechanisms of action of these resistances.
“This has contributed significantly to the knowledge of AMR, particularly as one of the genes he discovered confers resistance to tigecycline, a clinically important drug which is considered a last resort antibiotic.
“He was able to secure funds to present his work all over the world and his results have already resulted in two publications which is an impressive track record of engagement with the scientific community.
“I have no doubt he will enjoy continued success as a postdoctoral researcher at University College Dublin, where he has recently been appointed, and I look forward to reading about his work in subsequent publications very soon.”
Dr Sebastian Aguayo has also been awarded his Phd for his thesis Early-stage adhesion of microbes onto oral biomaterials at the nanoscale.
Primary Supervisor Dr Laurent Bozec said: "During his PhD, Sebastian brought the fields of microbiology and nanometrology closer by carrying research on the interactions between oral bacterial & fungal species and relevant dental surfaces.
"His work was incredibly significant for us as it now forms the basis of numerous collaboration with both academics and industrial partners.
"Over the course of his PhD, Sebastian showed a lot of dedication for research, winning a few prizes and producing a significant number of publications.
"As supervisor and mentor, I am extremely proud of his achievements and wish him all the best and success to establish himself as a research academic in his home country.”
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