INTEGRATED ORAL HEALTH CARE
Dr Ajesh George, Professor of Interprofessional Oral Health, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Western Sydney University (WSU) & Director and Co-Founder, Australian Centre for Integration of Oral Health
RESEARCHER PROFILE
Filmed in Sydney, Australia | August 2025
Dr Ajesh George is a Professor of Interprofessional Oral Health in the School of Nursing and Midwifery, Western Sydney University (WSU) and Honorary Professor in the School of Dentistry at The University of Sydney. He is a dentist with extensive experience in integrated oral health care and is a renowned expert globally in providing oral health training to non-dental professionals and translating oral health guidelines into their practice. Dr George is also the Director and Co-founder of the “Australian Centre for Integration of Oral Health” (ACIOH) which is a leading national research centre led by WSU in collaboration with various partners including universities, health services and professional organisations.
Over the last decade Dr George has been coordinating multidisciplinary teams in implementing effective and sustainable models of care across the lifespan and his work has been recognised by key bodies including the World Health Organisation. He has also been instrumental in training nurses and midwives to promote oral health by integrating oral health into undergraduate courses at Australian Universities as well as developing nationally recognised oral health professional development training programs.
Prof George has over $5.4M in funding including NHMRC grants, more than 150 publications (90% Q1/Q2 journals), 175 conference presentations (40 international), 19 research awards and a H-index of 34 with 4367 citations. He has 13 PhD and Masters completions and currently supervises 11 HDR students most of whom have received scholarships. In 2021 and 2024 Prof George was recognised as one of the top 2% scientists worldwide
Source: Supplied
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Iodine in pregnancy on baby brain and nervous system development
Dr Karen Best is Senior Research Fellow in the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI) Women and Kids Theme. She is a Registered Midwife with a unique breadth of experience in clinical project management, academic skills and knowledge translation and is committed to better understanding the essential role that modifiable exposures in pregnancy play in setting the foundations for a healthy start to life.
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Role of metabolic dysfunction in advanced prostate cancer
Dr Gunter was drawn to the area of prostate cancer research and the intersection between chronic metabolic disorders and their emerging relationship to cancer. Her strengths include expertise in the metabolic syndrome, insulin signalling and metabolism, and she has a demonstrated record of successful and productive research projects in metabolic research where she now applies her efforts to understanding the role of metabolic dysfunction in advanced prostate cancer.
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Enhancing occupational therapy service provision with military veterans
Prof McKinstry was instrumental in the development of the occupational therapy course at the La Trobe University’s Bendigo campus and also the establishment of the Rural Health School.
Prof McKinstry’s research focus is on health workforce, particularly developing a sustainable rural health workforce through recruitment of rural students for health courses, innovative and flexible delivery of health courses, telehealth and emerging areas of practice for occupational therapists.
