Providing ‘useful’ science to empower healthcare’s frontline professionals
Academic spotlight: Professor of Integrated Oral Sciences, Simon Whawell
A gentleman academic. A lab wizard. A holiday party dude.
Some years ago, a then colleague presented Simon Whawell with a unique gift. On the packaging is written ‘The many faces of Simon Whawell: Living Legend’, and staring out through the packaging are three LEGO figures, each attired to match the three personalities. An inherently modest man, Simon says that while it is “quite nice”, he doesn’t know if any of the monikers are borne out by fact. However, after taking a few seconds to reflect, he adds:
“I suppose there is some truth in it if, by gentleman, you mean being polite to people in everything you do. Perhaps being a lab wizard indicated you have a valuable skillset that you have learned, developed and now share. Then I guess being a holiday party dude could signify you have a bit of fun occasionally, and make people laugh and smile. After all, isn’t that part of the process too?”
The LEGO figures are not the only items adorning the shelves of Simon’s office at the heart of the University campus. A plate showing some of the main landmarks of Iraq. A medal in a commemorative box. A stuffed toy from his previous university. Countless smaller trinkets, presented to him by colleagues, students and their families over many years. They are all items that reflect the esteem in which he is held by those he has come into contact with, and the lasting impact he has had on them both professionally and personally.
Simon’s journey into the world of dentistry research is not a wholly conventional one. He admits he was lucky – a word that appears many times during our conversation – to have a clear understanding in his teens that he wanted to be involved in science, and especially human biology. His interests were encouraged by teachers at his secondary school and his parents, both trained nurses, through the purchase of microscopes and science kits. Even before he finished school, he had started growing bacteria in his parents’ garden shed. He even managed to coat the inside of the family oven with it during one attempt to sterilise his growing equipment.
His interest in the subject ultimately led to a BSc Life Sciences degree from the Polytechnic of Central London, and then a PhD at St Mary's Hospital, part of Imperial College London. His doctorate, published in one of the health profession’s most prestigious journals – The Lancet – looked at a specific disease mechanism that occurs in people following abdominal surgery. It was the first in a number of projects that has seen Simon work directly with a broad range of clinicians, something he enjoys doing to this day.
My interest has always been focused around human biology in an applied way – and my main motivation is to do science that is useful,” he says. “This is why I have always worked with those at the frontline of healthcare. They often identify issues during the course of their day-to-day work, and there are things we can do in the lab to identify the causes and – hopefully – the solutions.
Building a varied career
Simon’s first foray into dentistry came as part of such a project with the Eastman Dental Institute, University College London. He worked alongside a pathologist interested in oral cancer, looking at the molecular mechanisms and diagnostic markers of disease. He then moved to the University of Sheffield, working with the same pathologist, where he continued his research and also began passing on the expertise he was amassing through his burgeoning career to undergraduate and postgraduate students.
That, once again, was something fostered during his school days. At Bridlington School in East Yorkshire, the motto was Vitai lampada tradunt (“They hand on the torch of life”). It is something Simon has always tried to do through both his teaching and family life. It is obviously closely aligned with the University of Plymouth’s commitment to research informed teaching, which sees Simon teaching first and second year students across the University’s dentistry programmes about some of the conditions they may encounter during their dental careers.
“It shouldn’t surprise people to learn that every part of the human body is connected,” he says. “So what happens in a person’s mouth has direct impacts on other areas and vice versa. We now know there are links between gum disease and diabetes for example.
Also, with an ageing population, a dentist needs greater awareness of the complex medical needs and medications of their patients and how they may be impacted by dental treatment. Training to be a dentist these days is far broader than it may have been even 10 years ago.”
A prime example of this is the life-saving work of then final year student Jasleen Batra, who spotted the signs of oral cancer in a patient who had come in for a routine dental check-up. Gaining an understanding of these fundamentals of human health, Simon believes, are a critical part of being an NHS dentist in the 21st century. These are then supplemented with the technical skills students learn in the University’s Simulated Dental Learning Environment, the largest such facility in the South West of England.
Simon’s arrival in Plymouth was part of ongoing work to ensure its dentistry research continues to be as celebrated in future years as its dentistry teaching. Much of his research over the past 25 years has been looking at bacteria and how they interact with human cells. Among the other items adorning the walls of his office is a sheet of paper pinned to a notice board that he keeps visible “for inspiration”. It carries a slightly blurry image of a collection of human cells, some with bacteria hiding inside them and others without, which he first analysed through a microscope many years ago.
“Sometimes, looking down a microscope uncovers more questions than answers,” says Simon, as we discuss how the number of drawing pin holes in the sheet of paper signifies I am possibly not the first person to have heard this story. “When we first saw this, it was a complete mystery – why do some cells contain bacteria and others don’t? Over many months, one of my PhD students and I managed to find one possible answer, but it was an incredibly challenging process. But unlocking such mysteries will always be one of the most intellectually rewarding parts of my work.
What's next?
Simon is also increasingly working with the dental industry on projects. One is in collaboration with world-leading consumer health company Haleon and other colleagues in the Peninsula Dental School . It will use lab-created models of the oral mucosa, developed through another of Simon’s projects, to explore the long-term physical impacts of wearing dentures. Around 15% of those visiting dental practices in England having either partial or complete dentures, a number expected to increase significantly over the coming years. Yet, to date, there have been limited studies looking at the pressures wearing dentures can have on the lining of the oral cavity.
The connections between academia and industry are something Simon has fostered over many years through his links to the British Society for Oral and Dental Research (BSODR). It is something he plans to continue building through his role as the Society’s President, a position he will assume in September 2023.
It will allow him to keep abreast of existing and emerging research topics, and also play a role in supporting those responsible for driving the national research agenda.
His elevation to that particular role will come just a matter of weeks before his Inaugural Professorial Lecture at the University of Plymouth. When we begin to discuss that event, Simon’s aforementioned modesty once again kicks in, but perhaps even more so than at any other point in our conversation. That is in spite of the obvious high regard in which he is held by his students, his colleagues and the dentistry profession more broadly.
The Inaugural Lecture, in fact the professorship as a whole, is something I had never even imagined,” he says. “You do something because you love it, and I do still love and get excited by my work every day. Being made a professor is the pinnacle of academia, a level of recognition only a tiny number of people reach. That is the most wonderful thing for me personally, and it is a source of great pride that I don’t think I will ever lose.
Peninsula Dental School
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