2008 Press Releases

International Award for UCC Researcher
06.08.2008

Professor Helen Whelton, Oral Health Services Research Centre, UCC has received an international award from The European Organisation for Caries Research (ORCA) in recognition of  her outstanding contributions to the field of dental caries research.
She received the 2008 Zsolnay prize at the annual congress of ORCA in the Netherlands. She becomes the first Irish woman to win the award and only the second Irish person to have been honoured in this way

Professor Whelton, who is the Director of the Oral Health Services Research Centre in UCC and of its World Health Organisation Collaborating Centre for Oral Health Services Research, has been the Principal Investigator in many large-scale epidemiological studies, including clinical trials and water fluoridation studies. The results of these studies have made an important contribution to public health and to the evidence base to support the use of water fluoridation in the control of dental caries. Her research includes the measurement of fluoride and dental fluorosis and she is regarded as one of the world experts in this field. Her contribution to public health is recognized by her appointment to many bodies, both in Ireland and internationally, and also by the fact that she is regularly deployed as a consultant and advisor for national and international government agencies.

One of Professor Whelton's strengths is her ability to lead multidisciplinary teams of researchers and to integrate the field of dentistry with that of general health and social care. Over a 10 year period she fostered the development of health services research and evidence based health care during her membership of the board of the Health Research Board. She has been responsible for the recruitment, training, and promotion of numerous colleagues in a multitude of disciplines who have gone on to become leaders in the field of epidemiology and public health worldwide. Professor Whelton is one of the leaders of the Irish Health Services Research Scholars PhD training programme, an innovative approach to training PhD students combining the Health Services Research skills within three universities UCC, TCD and RCSI. The multidisciplinary taught Masters Programme in Dental Public Health which she developed and leads also contributes to the development of her discipline. Professor Whelton and her team in Cork are among the leaders in Europe in Oral Health Services Research: their record in obtaining substantial international research funding is a clear indication of this recognition.

Professor Whelton and her team contribute regularly to the Annual Scientific Meetings of ORCA and the International Association for Dental Research (IADR), as well as many other international societies. She was President of the Cariology group of IADR. Professor Whelton has an outstanding publication record and is a reviewer for a wide variety of international dental journals.

Outside of dentistry she has contributed to the national women's health agenda through her membership of the Women's Health Council and to the general health agenda through her contributions to the Health Research Board, her membership of the National Obesity Task Force and through directing an all Ireland survey of the height and weight of 20,000 children on the island of Ireland.

Picture shows Professor Helen Whelton, Director of Oral Health Services Research Centre with Professor Nigel Pitts, President of ORCA at the award ceremony.
 
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