International award a fitting tribute and exciting beginning

Receiving an international prize for global contributions to dentistry near the end of his tenure serves as a fitting tribute to the Dean and Head of the Faculty of Dentistry, as well as exciting inspiration for his next chapter.

Professor Paul Cooper was awarded the Pierre Fauchard Academy’s (PFA) Elmer S. Best Memorial Award on Saturday, 29 August, at a ceremony at the New Zealand International Convention Centre in Auckland.

Created in 1962 to honour the PFA’s founder Dr Elmer Best, this award is given to only one individual each year who is based outside of North America. It is awarded in recognition of an individual’s eminent and global contribution to dentistry.

Recognised as a pinnacle international honour in dentistry, the recipient of the award is selected by the Academy’s Board of Trustees and is only given when appropriate and by unanimous decision.

“I feel very honoured and privileged to be recognised with this award coincidentally near the time my five-year term leading the Faculty ends,” Paul says.

“It serves as a meaningful acknowledgement of all the teamwork I’ve been involved in and, as always, it recognises the hard work of many individuals who I’ve had the privilege to work with around the world, and most importantly, the support of my family.”

Paul attended the award ceremony alongside Associate Professor Tino Mercado, who is the Chair of the New Zealand arm of the PFA, and he was presented the award by the PFA’s International Vice President Dr Deb Cockrell, who flew in from Australia especially for the ceremony.

Alongside his leadership experience, Paul has approximately 300 peer-reviewed research publications and has authored and edited 12 book chapters in oral and pulp biology.

His expertise is in the clinical translation of dental and oral basic sciences, an area in which he has delivered over 50 invited lectures globally, supervised over 50 doctorates and been awarded over $10-million in research funding, over his career.

Paul originally came to Otago in 2019 from the University of Birmingham, UK where he was Director of Research and the Deputy Head of the School of Dentistry.

Arriving in Dunedin he was appointed the John Arnaud Bell Professor of Oral Biology. He is a previous recipient of two International Association for Dental Research (IADR) Distinguished Scientist Awards, has been President of several IADR groups, and has many ongoing collaborations around the world.

- Kōrero by the Division of Health Sciences Communications Adviser, Kelsey Swart