Cardiff researcher wins international award
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- Published: Tuesday, 26 April 2011 15:11
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| Breakthroughs in the regeneration of bone and dental tissue have won a Cardiff University researcher a leading award for young dental scientists. Dr Alastair Sloan received the International Association for Dental Research’s Young Investigator Award at the annual general session in San Diego, USA. He received a plaque and US$3,500. |
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Dr Alastair Sloan’s research career has focussed on the therapeutic use of bio-active molecules in the repair of the body’s mineralised tissues – bones and dentine in the teeth. He has built up understanding of how the body’s own stem cells repair damaged tissues naturally – and identified new materials which can do the same.
Dr Sloan’s work offers new approaches both to filling damaged teeth and healing broken bones. He explained: “The survival rate for tooth repair work has improved in recent years, but there is still only less than 50 per cent chance of a filling or other work lasting five years. Our team wants to drive that figure up whilst creating dental restorations that promote tissue repair and survival of the tooth.
“We have recently made significant advances in this area so that we know which molecules offer the best chance of survival, thanks to a project funded by the Welsh Assembly Government’s Welsh Office for Research and Development. We are now working on a major MRC-funded project to identify the best ways of delivering them.”
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