Doctoral thesis success: Hazel Simila
We congratulate Hazel Simila for successfully defending her doctoral thesis titled “Sol-Gel Synthesis and Application of Ca-Si Nanoparticles as Multifunctional Additives in Restorative Dentistry” on 7th May 2024. Hazel carried out her doctoral project in our Institute supervised by Prof. Aldo R. Boccaccini. She held a fellowship of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD). The examination board was composed by Prof. Boccaccini, Prof. Ulrich Lohbauer (Dental Clinic I, FAU), Prof. Kerstin Galler (Dental Clinic I, FAU), Prof. Dirk Schubert (Institute of Polymer Materials, FAU). Prof. Boccaccini highlighted the high quality and quantity of results obtained by Hazel in her research project, focusing on the development of antibacterial mesoporous (ion releasing) bioactive glass nanoparticles for a variety of dental applications, including the incorporation of such nanoparticles in devices to tackle the development of caries. In her project, Hazel established a new successful collaboration with the group of Prof. Marco C. Bottino, School of Dentistry, University of Michigan, USA. Hazel’s thesis led to publications in high impact journals (e.g. ref. [1-3]). Many congratulations to Hazel for her great achievement, we wish her all the best in her future career.
[1] H. Simila, et al., Sol-gel bioactive glass containing biomaterials for restorative dentistry: A review, Dental Materials 38 (2022) 725-747. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dental.2022.02.011
[2] H. Simila, et al., Sol-gel synthesis of lithium doped mesoporous bioactive glass nanoparticles and tricalcium silicate for restorative dentistry: Comparative investigation of physico-chemical structure, antibacterial susceptibility and biocompatibility, Front Bioeng Biotechnol 11 (2023) 1065597.
[3] H. Simila, et al., Developing a bioactive glass coated dental floss: antibacterial and mechanical evaluations, J Mater Sci Mater Med 34 (2023):53.
