Leading the way in oral health research

A new National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR)-supported incubator, led by the Universities of Sheffield and Newcastle, was launched on 1 July 2025 and is set to build capacity and develop research careers in oral health research.

Professor Chris Vernazza (left) with Professor Zoe Marshman – incubator co-leads

The oral health research incubator is one of five new incubators awarded funding from the NIHR to address areas where there is a need to build research capacity at a national level.

Led by Professor Zoe Marshman from the University of Sheffield’s School of Clinical Dentistry and Professor Chris Vernazza from Newcastle University’s School of Dental Sciences, the oral health research incubator will play an important role in training and supporting researchers, helping them to tackle oral health challenges.

Work at the incubator will centre around bringing together a community of those working or aspiring to work in applied oral health research, increasing the visibility of policy-relevant research and ensuring sustainable support.

Professor Zoe Marshman, Professor in Dental Public Health at the University of Sheffield, said: ‘Over the past year, dentistry has rarely been out of the news. There are many current oral health challenges facing national and local policymakers, including the best ways to promote the oral health of communities and patients, how to prevent and detect early oral diseases including oral cancer and supporting access to dental services particularly for vulnerable groups. This incubator will grow a network of researchers across the UK equipped with the right skills to identify solutions to these problems.’

The objectives of the oral research incubator are:

• Identify barriers to careers in oral health research amongst early and mid-career researchers

• Develop an academic community able to co-design solutions to attract and retain oral health researchers within the workforce

• Upskill this workforce to conduct high quality policy relevant applied oral health research

• Forge links between researchers, stakeholders and policymakers to identify areas for future research and devise a sustainable approach to maintain these links.

For more information about the oral health research incubator and to join the network of interested professionals and representatives of industry and patient groups visit the incubator webpage: https://sheffield.ac.uk/dentalschool/research/themes/transforming-oral-health/incubator.

Professor Chris Vernazza, Interim Head of the School of Dental Sciences at Newcastle University, said: ‘Growing the next generation of researchers is one of the most important aspects of our work and so this new incubator has a vital role to play in ensuring we are well equipped to deal with the many challenges we face in oral health. The focus on the interface between research and policy is key to unlocking benefits for the many individuals and groups affected by oral health problems.’

Information about the NIHR incubators can be found at