Dental Tribune United Kingdom Edition

March 26-April 1, 20126 News United Kingdom Edition D r Trevor Ferguson, (pic- tured), was elected to be the 8th Dean of the Fac- ulty of General Dental Practice (UK) on 2nd March 2012. Trevor will take over from the current Dean Russ Ladwa in June. The Faculty Dean is elected to serve for up to three years, providing clinical leadership and promot- ing the Faculty’s strategy and policies in the professional and public arenas. Trevor Ferguson is a Gener- al Dental Practitioner who has been practising in North Wales for the past 25 years. He has previous experience of voca- tional training, tutoring on post- graduate courses, University teaching and maintains a con- tinuing active commitment to primary care dentistry. Dr Fer- guson was a founder member of the FGDP(UK) and has been a member of the Faculty’s Board since 1998. Upon being elected Trevor Ferguson said: “The achieve- ments of the Faculty to date have been remarkable, howev- er we live and practise in very challenging times. The future success of the Faculty is depend- ent on increasing membership, strengthening our position as the standard setting organisa- tion for general dental practice, as a provider of postgraduate education and training, and also ensuring a greater voice in the future of patient care. The next few years are crucial and re- quire significant vision and en- thusiasm to achieve these goals. I am delighted to have been elected to the position of Dean and I look forward to working towards these goals, and ar- ticulating the Faculty’s position within the Profession.” Current Dean of the FGDP(UK) Russ Ladwa con- gratulated Dr Ferguson on his election saying: “Trevor Fergu- son has contributed hugely to the FGDP(UK) to date. He has all the right qualities to lead the Faculty forward at a challenging and critical time for our profes- sion. I wish him well!” Also elected on the 2nd March were two Vice-Deans, with Lawrence Mudford being elected for a second successive term and Naresh Sharma for the first time. In response to his re-election Lawrence Mudford said: “I am honoured and delighted to have been re-elected as Vice Dean of the FGDP (UK) in a year which marks the Faculty’s 20th anni- versary. I look forward to work- ing alongside the Dean, Faculty Board and staff to develop and enhance patient care into the future”. Naresh Sharma said of his election as Vice Dean: “After 20 years at the FGDP I am delight- ed to be elected as a Vice Dean. It will give me great pleasure to serve the Faculty and try to shape a better future for our col- leagues and our profession.” DT FGDP(UK) elects new Dean M embers of the dental press gathered at the Royal Institution in London on 9 March 2012 for this year’s BDTA Dental Show- case marketing theme launch. The Royal Institution is an independent charity dedicated to connecting people with the world of science, and with its focus on discovery, innovation, inspiration and imagination, it was the perfect venue to launch this year’s marketing theme of ‘A Voyage of Discovery’. At over 200 years old, the Royal Institu- tion has seen the discovery of ten chemical elements, and has been the site of many scientific experiments, including the re- search that told us why the sky is blue. The dental press gathered in the Sunley Room of the Royal In- stitution for drinks before Tony Reed, Executive Director of the BDTA, formally introduced the theme of this year’s marketing campaign. Jane Harrison, who works on the Institution’s Her- itage team, then took guests on a tour of the museum, showing them the preserved laboratory of 18th century scientist Mi- chael Faraday and the state-of- the-art nanotechnology lab that sits opposite and is in use daily. Guests also enjoyed a three- course lunch, and after dinner coffee was served dramatically surrounded by dry ice. Tony Reed commented: “Launching the Showcase mar- keting theme is always a thor- oughly enjoyable event, and a great opportunity for the dental press to gather. Having been the location of so many important discoveries and scientific devel- opments, the Royal Institution proved to be a great venue for this year’s theme of ‘A Voyage of Discovery’. It re-enforces the fact that Showcase is still the best place to see all the latest innovations in dentistry, and to discover what’s new.” BDTA Dental Showcase 2012 takes place from 4-6 October 2012 at ExCeL London. For fur- ther information visit www.den- talshowcase.com. DT A voyage of discovery for BDTA The theme of this year’s marketing cam- paign is ‘A Voyage of Discovery’ P owerful new cells created by Cardiff University sci- entists from cheek lining tissue could offer the answer to disorders of the immune system. While the body’s immune sys- tem protects against many diseas- es, it can also be harmful. Using white blood cells (lymphocytes), the system can attack insulin- producing cells, causing diabetes, or cause the body to reject trans- planted organs. A team from Cardiff’s School of Dentistry led by Professor Phil Stephens, with colleagues from Stockholm’s Karolinska Institute, have found a new group of cells with a powerful ability to suppress the immune system’s action. The team took oral lining cells from the insides of patients’ cheeks and cloned them. Laboratory tests showed that even small doses of the cells could completely inhibit the lymphocytes. The breakthrough suggests that the cheek cells have wide- ranging potential for future thera- pies for immune system-related diseases. Existing immune sys- tem research has focussed on adult stem cells, particularly those derived from bone marrow. The cheek tissue cells are much stronger in their action. Dr Lindsay Davies said: “At this stage, these are only laborato- ry results. We have yet to recreate the effect outside the laboratory and any treatments will be many years away. However, these cells are extremely powerful and offer promise for combating a number of diseases. They are also easy to collect – bone marrow stem cells require an invasive biopsy, where- as we just harvest a small biopsy from inside the mouth.” The findings have just been published online in Stem Cells and Development. The team has now been funded by the Medical Research Council to investigate the cloned cells further. DT Key to immune system disease could lie inside the cheek