Dental research makes international impact

Exciting developments in dental health have been emerging from the University, some of which have the potential to make their mark at an international level. Due in large part to work carried out by teams led by Professor Nigel Pitts, in the Dental Health Services Research Unit (DHSRU) and Centre for Clinical Innovations (CCI), a number of dental research and commercialisation projects have been extremely successful, and are also in-keeping with some of the goals laid out in the University's 'Vision Towards 2007'.

DHSRU and CCI have recently moved to the new Health Informatics Centre and are benefiting from the state-of-the-art facilities and accommodation at the MacKenzie Building. The development of commercialisation routes - a key priority in the vision - has been achieved with the recent flotation of University spin-out company IDMoS. IDMoS will maintain its links with the University through the CCI.

New funding future for dental unit

A major milestone was celebrated by the DHSRU at the end of last year, as the unit marked 25 years of success in meeting its remit: the improvement of oral health and dental healthcare for NHS Scotland and beyond. The unit is now looking ahead to new national and international research initiatives, and will also be moving to new models of funding from 2008.

The latest review of DHSRU by the Chief Scientist's Office (CSO) has led to the approval of a further four years of core funding, which means that the unit will have received support for 30 years - an achievement that "reflects great credit on the leadership and the abilities of the unit as a whole", according to director of the CSO Dr Alison Spaull. From 2008 this unit, like others, will be moving to new models of funding from a combination of University and external sources. Current external funders include the NHS in Scotland and England, the Medical Research Council, Economic and Social Research Council and the Wellcome Trust. From 2006 the unit will also be free to apply for specific grants from the CSO.

Commenting on the future of DHSRU, Principal Sir Alan Langlands said, "Good dental health is a high priority in the UK. The decision to withdraw CSO funding from 2008 is regrettable, but I have no doubt that the Unit will continue to flourish in the future and that there is plenty of time to secure alternative funding streams. A strong DHSRU is of strategic importance to both the Health Informatics Centre and the Dental School."

These changes come at a time of other developments that are also helping to take the unit forward. A UK virtual Centre for Improving Oral Health has just been launched to bring together UK expertise in evidence-based dentistry from Dundee, Manchester, Oxford and Cardiff. The collaborative virtual centre is already working on both national and international projects.

A number of new staff have also been recently appointed, including Dr Debbie Bonnetti, bringing Health Psychology expertise in implementation research, and Kate Levin, who has taken up the post of Unit Statistician.

Successful flotation of spin-out

University spin-out company IDMoS (Innovative Detection and Monitoring Systems), led by Professor Nigel Pitts and Dr Chris Longbottom, was floated successfully at the end of last year. IDMoS is already being seen as a model for the type of commercialisation activity to which other University spin-outs can aspire.

The company is initially focusing on diagnostic devices that can aid the identification and preventive treatment of tooth decay, which is a slowly progressive disease which can be arrested or even reversed if detected at an early enough stage. IDMoS founders, Nigel and Chris, together with associates, developed and patented a novel solution which has now been further developed into a computerised support system. The system can help dentists with early detection and monitoring of this global problem. The market for IDMoS is international with an early focus on the US.

The research underlying the IDMoS project was supported by the Centre for Clinical Innovations (CCI). Based at the university and established in 2001 as a half-way house between university research and industry applications of research, CCI works in collaboration with RIS to research, design and identify appropriate routes to market for novel systems related to detecting, diagnosing, monitoring and treating disease for use in both dentistry and medicine.

The successful flotation of IDMoS on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) at the London Stock Exchange late last year, was managed in collaboration with a team from Research and Innovation Services. James Houston and John MacKenzie of Research and Innovation Services worked closely with Nigel and Chris. This involved virtual incubation of the company and the planning of its commercialisation strategy. James said, "To achieve this success IDMoS had to be bold and had to show a great deal of resolve. The fact that the IPO (Initial Public Offering) route on the AIM market has not been achieved by many in the medical devices sector in recent years makes this achievement even more notable."

Having been supported through this stage by the Principal and the University Business Ventures Fund, IDMoS will continue its link with the University in its work with the University's Centre of Clinical Innovations. Both Scottish Enterprise and Scottish Enterprise Tayside have also been involved in a number of ways since the company first spun out of the University in 2001.