Olivia Osiro

Dentist, Lecturer and Researcher holding a PhD in Dentistry, Biomaterials Science (UoN), MSc in Dental Materials (Lon), Bachelor’s in Dental Surgery (UoN), and Cert Appl Biostats (UW). Olivia is currently the Head of Department of Conservative and Prosthetic Dentistry. Her research interests are in the field of dental materials, which are an array of materials used for various restorative procedures during dental treatment. Her focus is on filling materials, and my PhD aimed at evaluating local materials such as portland cements which have found successful alternative applications as dental fillings. She is also interested in public health research in oral health. A special interest area for her is the implication of the Minamata Convention on Mercury and the dental amalgam phase down on oral health in low- and middle-income countries where dental amalgam is extensively used. Olivia is presently involved in the supervision of dental postgraduate students investigating certain techniques and procedures to answer research questions intending to improve the quality of oral health services. She also intends to build up on her research on alternative dental filling materials. Further, she has been invited as a technical expert in the team developing the National Oral Health Policy and Strategic Plan. Generally speaking, interest in oral health is low and this has impacted negatively on oral health research regionally. Funding for both oral health services as well as oral health research is rather limited and is one of the challenges in oral health promotion. During her tenure as Head of Department, this is one area she intends to address by providing research leadership in both the Department and the School.