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
-
Environmental exposure to function of lung epithelial stem cell biology
Dr Clare Weeden has recently commenced as a Laboratory Head at WEHI in 2025, supported by the CSL Centenary Fellowship.
Dr Weeden specialises in lung epithelial cell biology in the context of homeostasis, inflammation, and lung cancer, particularly in people who don’t smoke. Her work endeavours to understand how past environmental exposures shape the responses of lung cells and the molecular mechanisms underlying this cellular recall, with the aim to develop novel early detection strategies for lung disease.
-
Respiratory health and the microbiome in the lung environment
Dr Taylor leads the Respiratory Health Group within the Microbiome and Host Health Program. His research employs tailored techniques that allow the lung environment to be characterised to a high level of accuracy, including detailed measurements of airway microbiology (microbiome), mucus composition, and inflammation. This information is used to identify predictive markers of chronic lung disease severity as well as determine effective forms of therapy.
-
DNA repair on the Fanconi anaemia pathway
Associate Professor Wayne Crismani is an internationally recognised expert in DNA repair, with a particular focus on Fanconi anaemia (FA)—a cancer-predisposition and bone marrow failure syndrome marked by extreme sensitivity to DNA damage. Based at St Vincent’s Institute in Melbourne, he leads a research program dedicated to understanding the genetic, cellular, and reproductive consequences of FA. He is currently supported by a Victorian Cancer Agency Mid-Career Fellowship and funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council.
